


Inevitable

by Persiflage



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Clothed Sex, Comfort Food, Crossdressing, Crossover, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Time, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Infinity Gems, Inhumans (Marvel), Killer Robots, Kissing, Minor Character Death, Older Man/Younger Woman, POV Phil Coulson, POV Skye | Daisy Johnson, Skye Being an Awesome Leader, Skye in a Suit is Sexy, Skye | Daisy Johnson's Superpowers, Slow Build, Telepathy, Time Travel, Trauma, taking it slow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-10 23:43:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4412555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Perhaps it is Fate, it certainly seems inevitable that Phil Coulson and Skye will eventually become more than just friends and partners.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Body Alteration/Injury

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RowboatCop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowboatCop/gifts), [zauberer_sirin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zauberer_sirin/gifts), [BrilliantlyHorrid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrilliantlyHorrid/gifts), [Skyepilot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/gifts).



> I took 10 random prompts from  
> http://www.seasip.info/Misc/genremixer.html - and used one prompt per chapter for this fic. I'll be adding additional tags and characters' tags as they're needed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tentative beginnings of a more intimate relationship between Skye and Coulson.

They're an odd pair, Coulson thinks as he and Skye walk back to Lola: the Inhuman girl and the one-handed man. (He shouldn't call her a girl, even in the privacy of his own head, but sometimes he slips.) Of course, no one who looks at Skye could guess she's not entirely human; she looks like an ordinary, twenty-something, although admittedly a gorgeous, athletic young woman. He's sure most of the looks they're getting are aimed at Skye, because even in a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt, she is still striking. Some looks, however, are definitely aimed at him, with the sling across his chest – people can't see he's lacking a hand, of course, but they must wonder, especially now that he and Skye have become semi-regular visitors to Donald Winslow's vetinary clinic. 

It's been three months since the confrontation on the _Iliad_ and Skye's finding it harder to adjust to losing her parents all over again than she'll admit, even to him – not that she needs to tell him, of course, he's figured it out for himself. She's visited 'Don' half a dozen times now, and each time she asks Coulson's permission to come, and all but insists that he should come with her. He's not sure why she doesn't want to come alone – whether it's because she doesn't quite trust the TAHITI programming to hold, or because she doesn't want to be on her own with the man who no longer recognises his own daughter. Whatever her reasons, Coulson has no objection to keeping her company so long as she wants him to come along. 

He'd mentioned it, in passing to Dr Garner – not because he was trying to pry into Skye's confidences to the psychiatrist, but just because he was concerned – and Andrew had reassured Coulson that he was doing a good thing by accompanying Skye, and that he had no reason to believe that Skye wouldn't eventually feel less need to visit so often.

"She's been orphaned twice, Phil," Andrew had said, his expression showing the same sorrow they've all felt on Skye's behalf. "The first time she knew nothing about it, but this time she's an adult, and she'd spent her whole adult life until now trying to discover more about her parents. I think it's part of her grieving process. And let's be honest, Phil, you're the most important person in her life, so it's no surprise that she wants your company when she visits." 

As they climb into Lola now, Skye looking at home behind the wheel, he asks, "Do you want to grab something to eat before we head back?"

She looks surprised by the suggestion, then the corners of her mouth curl upwards slightly. "I wouldn't mind if we don't rush back."

He nods. "There's a new place opened up in the last couple of weeks," he tells her, and leans over to program Lola's GPS.

She smirks at him, and he raises an eyebrow, wondering what the smirk's for. "You haven't made reservations, have you?" Her tone is teasing, something he hasn't heard for so long.

He chuckles softly. "No. This isn't something I planned, I promise."

"I wouldn't mind," she tells him, and he wonders if he's imagining the wistful note in her voice.

"Duly noted. But no, it just occurred to me that lunch was rather a long time ago, and if we wait until we're back at the Playground to eat, I shall definitely be hungry, even if you're not. Then I remembered seeing the signs for this place as we drove in."

She nods, then starts Lola up, and he watches her fondly as she reverses out of the parking space, then swings the car round in an easy arc, following the directions from the GPS. He cant help feeling he should've let Skye drive Lola before: they make a striking pair, the racy red sports car, and the dark-haired young woman at her wheel. If he was twenty years younger, he'd be tempted to make a play for Skye. Hell, he's tempted anyway, but he can't believe Skye would ever see him that way – yes, she sees him as a friend, but he doesn't imagine she'd ever see him as a potential lover.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

They enjoy their meal; it's good, home-cooked food, and Coulson's glad to see Skye eating with an appetite – he's noticed her skipping meals, or merely picking at her food, too often lately. Luckily, May had noticed it as well, and began insisting on the two of them eating breakfast after their morning training sessions. He understands, only too well, that grief can destroy the appetite, and not just for food. After he lost his father, he hadn't eaten properly for months; after losing his mother, it wasn't just food that he'd gone off, and his girlfriend at the time had eventually found her way into someone else's bed.

"Can I ask you something?"

Skye's quiet question pulls him out of his reverie, which he thinks might be just as well, and he gives her a puzzled look: she sounds unusually tentative. He's used to Skye boldly asking him whatever she wants to know – such as whether he and Reyes 'did it back in the day'.

"Ask," he says, finishing up his last couple of spoonfuls of apple pie and ice cream, and yes, it's a cliché, but it's _homemade_ apple pie, and he never can resist that stuff.

"Are you going to get a new hand?"

He almost chokes, coughs a bit, then gulps down a few mouthfuls of water. "You haven't forgotten how to be direct, I see," he says.

She looks abashed and starts to apologise, which makes him feel guilty, and he waves her apology away. "It's okay," he tells her. "The answer is, probably. Why?"

She gives a half shrug. "I expected you to be eager to get a prosthetic, that's all. You've always loved field work, in all the time I've known you, and you've always chafed at being stuck behind a desk. But it's been three months."

He swallows, then says, "We both lost a lot three months ago," he points out gently. "And I'm not saying losing my hand compares to you losing your parents again, but – " He stops, seeing the stricken look in her eyes. "Skye, I'm sorry."

"No, no." She reaches across the table and grabs his one hand in both of hers, squeezing it tightly. "I'm the one who's sorry. It was stupid of me not to realise."

"Realise what?"

"You're mourning, too," she says simply. "My mother's machinations robbed you of your hand, and your independence, and your freedom to be the man you were. Why shouldn't you mourn that just as much as I mourn my parents – after all, they were monsters, and you're a good man who didn't deserve to be hurt, to be punished for trying to save people." 

She's beginning to look and sound quite distraught, and Coulson quickly glances around, hoping that other people aren't watching or listening, but the place is pretty quiet, fortunately. 

"You already died," she says in a low voice. "It's not fair you had to lose your hand, too."

"Skye," he says softly, then passes her his handkerchief, before beckoning a passing waiter to ask for their check.

The young man gives Skye a doubtful look, but Coulson can still glare, and the waiter hurries away at the sight of Coulson's face.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

Ten minutes later, they're seated in Lola in the parking lot, which is fortunately empty. Skye's head is resting against his shoulder, and he's slipped his arm out of his sling so he can put both his arms around her. It's a bit awkward, but if he holds his left arm below the elbow, he can hug her properly. She doesn't seem to mind his foreshortened arm – she's got her own arms wrapped around him, too, as she sobs softly in the deepening dusk.

"It's okay," he tells her when her weeping finally peters out and she apologises for making his jacket soggy. He squeezes her carefully. "Are you okay?"

"Getting there," she says, and somehow that seems like a big admission from her – an acknowledgement that she hasn't been okay up to this point.

She pulls away from him slowly, and without giving it even one second's thought he leans back in and kisses her, briefly and softly, on the mouth. Her eyes go wide, and she grasps his shoulders, stopping him from pulling any further away.

"AC?"

"I'm sorry, Skye," he says quickly, feeling a rush of shame and embarrassment. _Honestly, what were you thinking?_ he asks himself, because that has to be the stupidest move he's ever pulled. And from someone who's supposed to be so smooth. He shudders, thoroughly mortified, until Skye's hands on his shoulders tighten their hold and she pulls him back towards her.

"I don't mind," she whispers, and presses her lips to his, just as softly, but much less briefly.

Somehow kissing Skye is every bit as joyful as he's always imagined (yes, he's imagined it, so sue him), even when she's just been crying. His arms find their way back around her body and she slips her hands off his shoulders to wrap them around his neck instead. He lets her control the pace of the kiss, although he's actively kissing her back, and when she pauses to nibble on his bottom lip, he feels such a surge of arousal that he has to pull back some more – he needs to calm down.

" _Skye_ ," he whispers her name as he rests his forehead against hers.

" _Phil_."

It gives him a thrill when she calls him that: it's an intimacy he's wanted all along, but didn't dare allow her because he didn't think he could let such intimacy stop there, and it would've been wrong, back in the old days of SHIELD and Levels, to be more intimate with Skye. Now though, he thinks it might be okay.

"Phil?" 

"Hmm?" He pushes himself back a bit so he can look her in the eyes.

"I want this with you – I've wanted it for a long time – but, is it – That is – " She pauses, looking frustrated.

"Tell me, Skye," he says softly.

"Is it okay if we take it slow? We are still mourning, both of us. I just – I don't want to rush this."

He presses a kiss to her eyebrow, then the tip of her nose. "Taking it slow sounds like a good idea to me," he assures her, then he kisses her on the mouth again.

Her tongue slides easily past his lips, then explores his mouth thoroughly, stroking over his tongue, curling past his teeth, then teasing the roof of his mouth.

"God, Skye," he sighs when they pull apart to catch their breath. "I've wanted you for a long time, too." It occurs to him she might not have realised that, and while he'd certainly done his best to convey some of his feelings to her when telling her about Lola, he had worried he'd been too subtle about it. 

She buries her face in the side of his neck, and he inhales the familiar scent of her shampoo with a happy sigh. Having her in his arms has always felt good, which is why he's always tried to be cautious about hugging her too often – he's always known it would be too easy to get complacent about holding her, and he'd feared someone would consider it inappropriate.

"We should get back," he tells her after several minutes of them just holding each other, breathing to the same rhythm.

"Yeah," she whispers. She pulls back slowly, then pauses to press another brief kiss to his lips, or more precisely, the corner of his mouth.

"We can talk about this some more tomorrow," he suggests. "We'll make time, okay."

"Promise?" She sounds vulnerable, he thinks, and who can blame her. 

"I promise. After your morning training session – why don't you come and have breakfast with me in my office, and we can talk before the morning briefing?"

"Okay."

"Okay." He eases back from her, then fumbles with his sling, but she immediately reaches over and helps him get his arm tucked back into the sling, giving it a light pat once it's settled against his chest.

"I'm glad this was all you lost that day," she tells him quietly. "I couldn't have made it through the last few months without you."

"Well likewise," he says.

She gives him a brief smile, then settles into her seat, and starts Lola up. As she pulls out of the restaurant's parking lot, Coulson can't help hoping that things will start looking up now.


	2. Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Coulson discuss their relationship, and make plans for the future.

The next morning Skye comes into his office, her hair still damp from her post-training shower, and he gets to his feet, then moves around his desk towards the conference table.

"Morning," he says, feeling a glow of warmth when he looks at her; there's nothing special about the way she looks today – she's just wearing her usual outfit of slacks and a button-down shirt, the shirt tucked in at the front, but hanging out at the back, but it's an outfit that he particularly likes.

"Morning." She comes to stand beside him, looking at him closely then, after a moment's scrutiny, she pushes onto her tiptoes and kisses him briefly. She cocks her head at him, her eyes appraising him, and after a moment she smiles. 

"What?" he asks.

"I wasn't sure last night, 'cos I was a bit distracted with the whole my-boss-is-suddenly-kissing-me thing – " He opens his mouth, but she waves him to silence – "but when we kiss, your vibrations change."

His eyes widen and he stares at her. "My vibrations?"

She nods, then frowns slightly. "Sorry, I forgot, you probably don't know about that bit of my powers." She looks at the food and the coffee pot set out on the table, then asks, "Can I tell you while we eat?"

"Of course," he says immediately, and pulls out one of the chairs. 

She smirks at him, then sits down, and he moves around the corner of the table to take his own seat. "I do love that about you," she tells him, and he quirks an eyebrow, unsure of her meaning. "That you hold my chair for me when I'm seated. It's kinda old fashioned, but I like it – it suits you, Phil."

She bites her lip after she uses his name, as if she thinks he'll reprimand her. "I don't mind you calling me 'Phil' in private," he assures her, and she nods, then reaches to pour them both some coffee.

He'd asked May what she and Skye normally ate for breakfast, then put together the same for him to share with Skye – Simmons had helped him, however, since he couldn't manage everything one-handed.

"Before you start telling me about vibrations," he says, "I wanted to let you know I've asked Agents Fitz and Simmons to do some research for me on getting a prosthetic hand."

Her eyes widen. "That's not 'cos of what I said last night, is it?"

He shakes his head. "Well, not entirely. I have been wondering, the last couple of days, whether it was time – your question made me realise that it is time. I'm getting bored with being stuck in the office. The only time I go out is when we go and see Cal – I mean, Donald – and while I enjoy keeping you company on those trips, I think it's time I started working towards getting back out in the field."

"Good," she says with quiet emphasis. 

They begin to eat, and Skye tells him about being able to 'read' the vibrations given off by everything, and everyone. She explains how Jiaying had taught her to influence those vibrations. "I haven't tried influencing the vibrations of other people," she says, "but I can change the way objects vibrate." She describes the trick with the wineglasses she'd done with her mother, and Coulson immediately decides he wants a demonstration of that. He still hasn't seen her use her powers yet – although May had described to him the way Skye had used them on her, back at Afterlife, and he knows that May's been working with Skye to incorporate the use of her powers in her fighting style. 

"Well if you want a test subject for your experiments," he says cheerfully, "I volunteer."

She almost chokes on the slice of wholemeal toast she's eating. "I couldn't do that," she exclaims, sounding horrified. "What if I hurt you?"

He raises his eyebrows. "Skye, we both know you'd never hurt me, if you could possibly avoid doing so. And besides, I trust you. You're one of the few people I trust."

"Still?" she asks softly, and he nods.

"Still," he agrees.

"Okay. I can't deny it would be good to have someone to try out some stuff with."

"Good." He notices she's got a small blob of strawberry preserves from her toast at the corner of her mouth, and he leans over and licks it away.

"Oh my god!" she exclaims quietly. "I can't believe you just did that."

"Sorry," he says quickly, feeling annoyed with himself – he can't think what's come over him, to have turned into someone so ridiculously impulsive.

" _Don't_ apologise," she tells him, quietly emphatic. "I liked it." She leans across the corner of the table and swipes her tongue across his lips. "I think it's cute and romantic."

"Cute?" he asks, somewhat appalled at the adjective.

"Yeah," she says, her tone surprisingly defiant. "You're a very cute boy." She smirks at him.

"Skye," he protests weakly. "I'm 52 years old – I'm definitely not a boy."

She chuckles. "Yeah? But I bet you sometimes think of me as a girl, huh?" He can feel his cheeks heating up, and she crows triumphantly. "You are so busted!" she says, then laughs, and Coulson decides it's worth the embarrassment just to hear Skye laughing again.

He swallows. "Sorry," he says. "I know it's – "

"It's okay, Phil," she says. "I'll let you think of me as a girl, if you don't mind me thinking of you as a boy."

He smiles. "I can't really argue with that without being hypocritical," he observes.

"Yeah." She finishes her slice of toast, then as she reaches for another, she asks, "This taking it slow, thing – does this mean we're dating?"

"Would you like that?" he asks curiously. He hasn't dated anyone since Audrey, and that's nearly three years ago now. He supposes it must be even longer for Skye – as far he knows she hasn't dated anyone since she and Miles parted company, and even though she and Miles were living in different states, they were still a couple.

"Yeah I would," she agrees quietly. "I mean, I don't expect you to take me out on actual dates or anything, but – "

"Why not?" he asks curiously. "Do you think I would be ashamed to?"

Her eyebrows go up. "No, no! I just thought – well, we're always so busy."

"Yes we are, but if there's one thing the events on the _Iliad_ taught me, or reinforced for me, because Loki taught it to me first, it's that life is incredibly short, and we should make the most of our opportunities. Fury gave me a second chance," he observes quietly, "and I was grateful for that – it brought you into my life, after all – but I didn't make the best use of that chance. In part that's because I ended up with alien DNA making me carve weird stuff onto the walls, but it's also because I kept on compartmentalising things. Even after Fury made me Director and I did away with Levels, I was still trying to keep everything separate – and it didn't really work." He gives her a half smile. "You saw to that."

She gives him a little pleased smile, not that he blames her – he's actually deeply grateful for the way she just barged into his life and yanked him out of his bad habit of putting things into boxes.

"So yes, we can date. We may not get out of here very often, but we can have lunch or dinner together sometimes, and maybe watch a movie together as well. I've got a nice plasma screen in my quarters."

"Director's privileges, huh?" she asks, and he grins, pleased to be teased.

"Absolutely."

"Are we gonna tell the others we're dating?"

That's the $64,000 question, he thinks. He's inclined not to tell, not because he's ashamed of dating Skye, even if he is old enough to be her father, but because he knows the kind of accusations people in some quarters (such as the Council) will be making, mentally if not aloud.

"Do you want to?"

She bites her bottom lip for a moment, then asks cautiously, "Can we keep it on the down low for now?"

He nods. "If you like. I'm not ashamed of dating you Skye – please don't ever think that. But there are certain people around here who will clearly remember Gonzales' comments about my relationship with you."

She frowns, and he realises she may not know what Gonzales and his other 'Real SHIELD' people said, so he elaborates. "Gonzales thought I was compromised, in part because of you. The other part, of course, being where ex-Director Fury stuffed me full of alien DNA to bring me back to life." He swallows. "Even May wondered for a while."

Skye's eyes go wide. "I thought she was the one who sent you after me? I mean, she warned me that Gonzales' people were coming for me."

He nods. "She did send me to find you. She knew that for me you are SHIELD, so SHIELD without you wasn't really SHIELD."

She frowns at him. "I don't understand."

He swallows hard. "You're the reason I decided to keep going with SHIELD. After the whole Ward and HYDRA debacle, I was seriously considering just walking away. But you, who had thought SHIELD was a bad thing when we first met, had come to believe in its value, to think that what it was trying to do was worth doing – so when Fury offered me the chance to restart SHIELD without HYDRA, I accepted it. You're the reason I got rid of Levels, too."

"I had no idea," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. "You never said."

He shrugs. "I didn't want you to feel responsible for my decisions."

She shakes her head, giving him a look he can't really decipher, then says, "So we're going to keep quiet about us dating?"

"For now, at least," he agrees. "We said we'd take it slow, and I think we should give ourselves time to just be us. Especially since some people we know won't hesitate to offer their opinions or advice unsolicited."

"Hunter," Skye says, and he smirks as he nods his agreement. "What about Project Caterpillars?"

"What about it?" He has his own thoughts on the subject, but he doesn't want to push Skye into anything.

"I think I'd like to start moving forward on it, if that's okay?"

He nods again. "It's your project," he says. "You're solely in charge, Skye. I'll have your back, of course, but I put you in charge, and I'm happy for you to make your own decisions about moving it forward. Like we discussed last night, you've been mourning your parents, so I had no intention of pushing you. It's not going to be easy – and of course, with the Council around, it'll be even less easy. The majority of the Council members are – wary, shall we say – of people with powers, however they've gained those powers. So Caterpillars isn't going to be like the Index – widely known to everyone within SHIELD."

"Can I get people to help me? SHIELD people, I mean?"

"Of course. I'll leave it to you to decide who you want to get involved – I can suggest people who I think would be good choices, if you want, but I don't want you to feel you can't make your own decisions. You know, better than I do, who you trust, and how much."

She nods. "Dr Garner's the first, and most obvious, choice, I think. If he's willing. I mean, I know he's been working with you, and with me, but he might not want to get further involved."

"He might not," Coulson agrees. "On the other hand, it'd give him more reason to continue his involvement with SHIELD."

"Which May would like," she says, with a smirk.

Coulson chuckles. "Indeed she would." He finishes his coffee, then adds, "To go back a bit, I think I'm going to tell Andrew about us."

She nods quickly. "Yeah, I was thinking that would be a good idea, with him being our psychiatrist. Should I tell May, since she's my SO?"

"That's up to you," he says. "You have a better handle on what your relationship is like with Agent May these days."

"We sorted out our differences after what happened at Afterlife," she says. "And she's been very helpful in working out ways I can incorporate my powers into my fighting style." She swallows, then says, "After Jiaying told me what happened in Bahrain, I could understand why May was freaked out by my powers – even though, you know, she never said anything overt."

He nods. "She was worried she wouldn't be able to help you – that her own experience would make it impossible."

"But she – " She pauses, then says in a rush, "She cares about me. Like really cares. Which is kinda funny, given how much she didn't want me around when I first joined your team."

Coulson chuckles softly. "Well, bear in mind, you were an unknown variable in those days. May assembled that team, without me knowing it, to deal with me if Fury's reprogramming ever broke down. You were the wild card in the pack, and she was worried that you'd jeopardise her mission. But you grew on her – eventually."

Skye snorts. "You make me sound like fungus."

He can't help laughing at that. "It's true though. I think you could probably win over just about anyone if you set your mind to it. That's an invaluable quality, especially for you with the Caterpillars Project."

She blushes a bit, then begins talking about the ways she wants to handle finding Inhumans and other gifted people, and who she'd like to get involved in the project, besides him and Andrew. Her plans are solid, well-thought-out, and very typical of Skye. He can find no fault in any of them, which is very satisfying. She's going to make a brilliant team leader.

By the time she's finished laying out her plans, it's time for their morning briefing, so they put their breakfast things on the tray, and Skye picks it up to return it to the kitchen. When she returns it's in the company of May, Fitz, and Simmons; Bobbi, Hunter, and Mack arrive soon after, and then it's on with the never-ending job of keeping the world safe.


	3. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Former SHIELD Agent Grant Ward hasn't given up on making trouble for Skye.

Coulson watches from behind an SUV as Skye leads her small team against the group of HYDRA agents that Ward had sent to capture her father. They're still not sure how Ward found out that Don Winslow was formerly Cal Zabo, but he did, and now Cal's being held hostage in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town, which Skye and her team are about to storm. That they're here at all is entirely down to Skye's excellent forward-thinking. She'd given Cal – Don – the number of a burner phone that she'd bought for that specific purpose, and had persuaded him that if ever strangers came asking about 'Daisy Johnson' (the name she uses when visiting Donald), he was to call her immediately. Three hours ago he'd done just that, and when Skye told him, Coulson had immediately scrambled a Quinjet, and May had flown the team to Wisconsin. 

They're not sure if Ward's actually with the HYDRA goons – Skye hadn't been able to establish that beforehand – but it wouldn't surprise Coulson since the new head of HYDRA does enjoy taunting his victims.

Skye's group splits into two – Bobbi leading one group around the back of the warehouse, while Skye, together with May, leads the second group in the front. Fitz has already flown two of his Dwarves inside, via the broken roof, but so far it's too dark for him and Coulson to see what's happening within the warehouse.

"Now," comes Skye's low voice over the comms, followed by a bang as she uses her powers to smash down the doors at the front of the warehouse. They see the doors fly inwards in several pieces, which allows more light inside, and makes it easier for them to use the Dwarves to follow what's going on.

Two guys immediately rush at Skye and May, and while May begins to fight the one on the left, Skye's right hand flashes forward, and the guy on the right spins up into the air, then across the warehouse to crash against a pile of abandoned crates; he lies amid the broken pieces, and Skye continues to stride forward, making Coulson realise that she hadn't even broken step to deal with the HYDRA goon.

As he watches Skye (he can't drag his eyes away from her to check how anyone else is getting on), Coulson realises that he's embarrassingly aroused, and he is very thankful that Fitz is far too focused on the screen of the tablet he's holding between them to notice what state SHIELD's Director is in.

Two more goons rush at Skye, and the first goes flying in the same way as Skye's original attacker, while she uses her powers to shake the second guy's gun to pieces, before she fights him. Coulson can only watch in total admiration as Skye reduces the goon to an unconscious heap in a matter of moments: May had told him that Skye's combat techniques have improved in leaps and bounds since she went through Terrigenesis, and he can now see that May hadn't exaggerated. 

Skye's heading towards the corner of the warehouse and Coulson realises there's a couple of offices there. As she strides on, he can't help thinking that she looks taller – she isn't of course, but she is quite magnificent. Two more guys try to get the drop on her, one leaping out of the shadows to her right, while the other jumps from a walkway above her head, and this time both her hands flash out, sending the two goons flying away from her in opposite directions. As she nears the offices, the door of one opens, and Don appears in the doorway, Ward standing behind him with his arm tight across the older man's throat, and a gun pressed against Don's temple.

"You shouldn't have come, Skye," Ward says. "Now I'm going to have to hurt your dear old dad."

Don looks bewildered, which isn't surprising Coulson thinks, while Skye looks disdainful. 

"I should have put two in your head," she observes, referring to the fact she'd shot him in the back when they were in San Juan. "When are you going to learn, Ward, that messing with me never ends well for you?"

He snorts, tightening his arm around Don's throat, and Coulson can see that the older man is struggling for breath now.

"How d'you think you can stop me before I kill him?" Ward asks.

"Like this," she says, flicking her fingers at him. 

Ward's hold on Don immediately slackens and Skye instantly shouts, "Drop, Don!" To Coulson's surprise he obeys, and Skye's hand flicks out again; Ward drops the gun to clutch at his throat with both hands, and Fitz stirs beside Coulson.

"What did she do?" asks the younger agent as Ward collapses to the ground behind where Don's still crouching, his hands folded over his head.

"Took the air from his lungs," Coulson says. "As well as affecting the vibrations of anyone or anything around her, Skye can also manipulate air. And water."

Fitz makes a surprised noise, then says, "I didn't know that."

"She only mastered it last week," Coulson tells him absently. It had been a rather frightening learning experience for both of them, to tell the truth, but he'd insisted she get to grips with it, once she'd had the idea, because it was too useful a trick not to have at her disposal.

"Did Skye kill Ward?" asks Fitz, and Coulson realises the younger man sounds jittery. He clasps his hand around Fitz's wrist, doing his best to steady him.

"I think so," the Director says. "We'd better find out." He taps his earbug. "Skye?"

"Here," she answers. He can see she's crouched down in front of Don, and has pulled his hands from his head to hold them in both of hers.

"Is Ward dead?" Coulson asks.

She squeezes Don's hands, then gets to her feet and moves around her father. She briefly presses her fingers to Ward's neck, then reports, "Yeah."

Coulson takes his attention from her long enough to check in with May and Bobbi, who report that all the HYDRA goons within the warehouse are either dead or unconscious, and he orders Fitz to report that fact to Brigadier General Talbot's team, who are on standby a couple of miles away.

Coulson gets to his feet and heads into the warehouse, speaking briefly to May and Bobbi, who are leading the rest of the agents out – a couple have minor injuries, which can be dealt with easily. He moves over to where Skye is leading Don away from the office, and Ward's corpse; Don looks shaken, and Coulson can see that Skye's upset at the state Don is in.

They get him outside, and Jemma appears – May having called her in from the Quinjet where she'd been waiting. She gives Don a mild sedative, then moves on to treat the injured agents, while Skye and Coulson guide Don over to the SUV and help him to sit inside on the backseat.

"Why did that man call you 'Skye'?" Don asks, his expression bewildered. "And he said I was your father."

"I'm sorry," Skye says softly, "I never meant for this to happen, for you to get hurt."

He looks up at her, trying to make sense of her words, and Skye cups her hands against his temples, then she leans in and says quietly, "Forget Daisy Johnson. You don't know Daisy Johnson. You have a headache, and when it clears, you will not recall that Daisy Johnson is someone you once knew."

Coulson watches, a lump in his throat, as Skye severs the last tie between herself and her parents. When they'd decided to use the TAHITI protocol on Cal in the days following the confrontation on the _Iliad_ , they'd agreed to create a 'trigger' phrase, something that Skye could repeat to the man who had been Cal, that would cause a 'program' in his memory to wipe out all recollection of Daisy Johnson. Skye had told Coulson that she'd wanted to see Cal live, and he'd agreed to using the TAHITI protocol because it had seemed like the most humane way to deal with Cal, but they'd also agreed that if her new relationship with Donald Winslow ever looked like endangering him then she would need to have a way to make him forget the meetings between Don and Daisy. 

As they watch, Don's eyes go blank, and he seems to sag into himself. Skye looks up, and Coulson can see the unshed tears standing in her eyes. He wants to pull her into his arms, but he restrains himself, simply brushing his right hand lightly down her back. She bites her lip, sniffs hard, then nods at Coulson, her emotions back under control for the moment. He wonders if she'll break down later, and if she'll let him comfort her when she does.

May strides up, and Coulson moves away from Skye to talk to her.

"Is she okay?" May asks immediately.

"Not really," he says. "Report."

She gives him a detailed breakdown of the numbers of dead and wounded HYDRA goons, then tells him that Simmons has already treated their own two wounded agents. "We're just waiting on Talbot's team," she says, just as three vans drive up at speed and disgorge a number of soldiers.

May gives Coulson a nod, then moves across the parking lot to speak to the Captain in charge of the soldiers, and Coulson turns back to Skye. He sees Fitz standing a short distance away, an anxious look on his face, so he walks over to the younger agent. 

"Are you all right?" He's looking jittery again, Coulson thinks.

"Can – can I – would it be okay if I go inside for a moment?" Fitz asks, stuttering more than is usual for him these days.

Coulson gives him an appraising look, then says, "If it will help, yes."

Fitz stares at him a moment, then nods, mutters his thanks, then hurries away. Coulson supposes he can understand Fitz's desire to see Ward's corpse for himself, and he hopes it will help the young man to see the person who's caused him so much pain and anguish dead.

He turns back to Skye again, and sees her further down the road, helping Don into the back of a cab. He waits, his right hand stuffed in his pants pocket, while she speaks briefly to the cab driver before she walks back to him. He's only slightly surprised when she walks right up to him and puts her arms around him, and he immediately wraps his right arm around her, pressing her close.

"I'm so sorry, Skye," he tells her softly, knowing his words are useless, but not knowing what else to say, or do, except hold her while she sobs quietly on his shoulder.

Mercifully the others leave him to comfort Skye as best he can, while they finish the clear up. Eventually Skye's tears subside, and he lightly presses his lips to her hair, then says, "We should get you back to the Quinjet. I brought some snacks for you."

She makes a noise that's part laugh, part hiccough, then pulls herself upright. "You think of everything," she says, and he shakes his head.

"Not everything," he says, "but I try."

He lets her step out of his encircling arm, then offers her his handkerchief to dry her face. He'd like to hold her hand as they walk to the Quinjet, but he doesn't want to do anything that'll give rise to awkward questions. Instead he walks beside her, and if his arm brushes against hers rather often, well that's no one's business but theirs.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

Back at the Playground, he keeps the debriefing as short as possible, then sends everyone off to get some rest and unwind. Mack's waiting with beers for Bobbi and Hunter, while May shepherds Fitz and Simmons off to a quiet corner to drink tea and talk. The other agents drift off to eat, drink, play cards, or sleep; Coulson turns to Skye, who's looking emotionally drained and physically exhausted.

"Do you want some company, or would you prefer to be alone?" he asks softly.

"Company," she answers, her voice still sounding raspy from her earlier crying jag.

"Why don't you come and have a nap in my quarters?" he suggests.

She gives him a surprised look, and he can't blame her. In the month since they first kissed, they've had a handful of 'dates' which have mostly consisted of eating lunch or dinner together. They'd also spent an evening watching episodes of _The X-Files_ back to back – but that's the only occasion on which she's been in his quarters.

"I'd like that," she says after a moment, and he nods, glances around, and seeing there's no one in sight, slips his hand into hers, squeezing her fingers gently. 

Once in his quarters, she pulls off her boots, then ditches her field suit, and he swallows hard at the sight of Skye in just a camisole top and a pair of boy shorts, which is what she usually wears under the suit. She unfastens her ponytail, then sits on the edge of his bed, and after a moment he sits beside her.

"Do you want anything else to eat?" he asks, sliding his hand into hers again. (He gets his new hand next week, and it can't come soon enough.)

"Not right now," she says. "I could use a shower."

He nods at the door in the far corner of the room. "Mine's through there." She gives him a surprised look, and he adds, "Just a thought."

"I'd like that," she says after a moment. 

"There's a robe on the back of the door you can use, and the towels are in the cabinet by the wash hand basin."

"Thank you." She leans in and kisses him, sliding her arms around his neck, and he puts his hand on her back to steady her as he kisses her back. His pent up desire from earlier threatens to overwhelm him, and he forces himself to slowly pull back. She utters a soft whimper as his lips part from hers, and he rests his forehead on hers. 

"I don't want to take advantage of you," he tells her. 

"No," she agrees, then shifts away from. "I'll have that shower, if you don't mind."

"Of course not," he agrees, and getting to his feet, he moves over to the table in the corner where a tablet computer, a bottle of water, and a glass all sit. He hears Skye cross the room, then the bathroom door closing behind her, and he picks up the tablet, then sits down at the table with a heavy sigh.

He would like nothing more than to make love to Skye, to comfort her in whatever fashion she wants, but he also believes she's vulnerable at the moment, and he definitely doesn't want to take advantage of her – he can imagine some of the things she's feeling right now: sadness, loneliness, anger, self reproach probably. And he thinks she needs to start working through those feelings before they finally consummate their relationship.


	4. First(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Coulson's first time.

Skye sleeps peacefully in Coulson's bed for a couple of hours, and he forces himself not to look at her, because really, it's a bit creepy, watching someone sleep if they're not actually at death's door. (Thus he excuses himself his vigil at Skye's bedside after Quinn shot her.) But when she starts thrashing about, he goes over and wakes her up because no one should have to stay trapped in a nightmare.

"Okay?" he asks softly, crouching beside the bed.

"No." She sounds broken-hearted, he thinks, and he experiences a surge of rage at Ward for what he's done to Skye. If he wasn't already dead, Coulson thinks he might have had to kill him himself.

"What can I do to help?" he asks.

She lifts the bedcovers, and he nods, then gets his shoes off, ditches his half-loosened tie (his jacket's already gone), then climbs into the bed beside her. She immediately wraps her arms around his torso, resting her head on his shoulder, and he slips his right arm under her and holds her close.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable without the sling?" she asks quietly. "Or do you sleep in it?"

"Not any more," he says. He clears his throat. "I can't control my arm's movements as well without my hand, though."

She lifts her hand and rests it over his foreshortened lower arm. Squeezing very gently, she says, "If you'd be more comfortable with it off, I won't mind if it – " She pauses, evidently looking for a word that won't sound offensive.

"Flops around?" he suggests, and she lifts her head to look at him, as if she's unsure how humorous he's being.

"That," she agrees. "Shall I?" She touches the straps lightly, and he swallows, then nods, and she gently unfastens the sling, before she pulls it away and drops it onto the nightstand. She's leaning over him, and he can feel himself stiffening at the way her hard nipples beneath the t-shirt she's borrowed from him are pressed against him as she carefully runs her right hand up, then back down, the length of his damaged arm. It's a very loving sort of caress, he thinks, and he has to swallow hard against the lump of emotion that seems to be lodged in his throat.

"Skye," he whispers.

"Phil." She leans further over and kisses him, soft and exploratory, and he can't help a quiet groan escaping. 

As they kiss her hand moves to rest over his heart, then drifts to his waist, before she traces the outline of his hard cock through the fabric of his suit pants. His body jerks and his left arm flops uselessly sideways, and he curses silently. If he had his hand, he could've grabbed Skye's wrist and stopped her touching him that way.

She snatches her hand back, however, and sits up, her face flushed, and he realises she's embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Coulson," she says, her voice sounding choked. "That was completely unfair of me."

He lifts his right hand and cups her cheek, holding her gaze with his own. "I love you, Skye, and I want you very much – as you just found out – but not right now. You had a very traumatic experience today, and – "

"But that's just it," she says, cutting him off without hesitation. "I've lost my father for good now. Ward might be dead, but I can't risk having any contact with Don ever again in case someone else discovers his connection to me and tries to use it against us. You're the closest thing I've got to a family now." He finds himself remembering how he'd told Cal that Skye was just that for him. "I want this with you because I want to feel connected to you – not just by alien DNA in our blood, but body and mind and soul."

She looks on the verge of tears by the time she's finished, and he sits up, scoots forward, then wraps his arms around her, his left arm's awkward to manoeuvre but manageable in the end. She hugs him back fiercely, holding onto him as if she never intends to let go. 

"I'm sorry, Skye," he whispers. "I don't want to deny you that – I just – " He swallows. "It felt too much like taking advantage of you when you're feeling vulnerable."

"But it's not taking advantage if I ask you for this, is it?"

"No, I suppose not." He tightens his right arm, inhaling the scent of her hair, which smells of his shampoo, rather than hers. "I guess I wasn't thinking straight," he admits.

She utters a soft chuckle. "Do I make you crazy, Phil?"

He can't help chuckling back. "Always," he says. "Always have, probably always will, 'cos I'm crazy about you."

She eases back so she can look him in the face, then kisses his forehead; both his eyebrows, lingering perhaps a little longer on the right one, the one that's always getting banged; his cheeks; the tip of his nose; then his lips. Her kisses are soft and gentle, and very loving.

"Phil?"

"Skye?"

"Will you please make love to me?"

"Yeah." 

She gives him a dopey sort of smile, then begins unbuttoning his shirt, her fingers swift as they move down his shirtfront. She gets him out of his shirt quite easily, despite his left arm, then she plants a series of kisses down his chest, lingering over his scar; she grazes her teeth over his nipples, and he groans as the sensation goes straight to his cock. She chuckles as her mouth moves down over his belly, following the line of hair that disappears into the waistband of his pants.

"Okay?" she asks, sitting back up with her hands on his belt.

"Yeah," he breathes. He feels dizzy with desire, all his nerve-endings seem to be pulsing to a rhythm, and as he registers that thought, his dizziness disappears, but his desire does not. "Is that you?" 

"Do you mind?" she asks, sounding nervous.

He shakes his head. "What are you doing, exactly?"

"Just magnifying the vibrations a little bit, the ones that relate specifically to your arousal. I won't do it if it makes you feel uncomfortable, it's just – " She stops, then swallows. 

"Just what, Skye?" he asks, reaching out to cup her cheek, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone as his fingers slip into her hair.

"It feels nice – your vibrations, I mean – they're very pleasant, and, well, they turn me on even more."

He smiles at her. "I don't mind," he tells her. "I've never made love to a powered person before."

"Well, I've never made love as a powered person before, so."

"A double first for us both, then," he says, "since we've never made love before either." She nods, and he presses a brief kiss to her lips. "I like it, and I like the fact that you can do interesting, positive things with your powers. It proves that you're not just a weapon."

She sighs, and he can tell she's relieved to hear him say that. "Thank you."

He nods, then drops his hand to the hem of her t-shirt and awkwardly pulls it upwards. She grabs the hem on the other side, then curls her hand over his right one, and together they get her t-shirt off.

"God, Skye, you are _so_ gorgeous," he says when he gets his first proper look at her. He wishes, even more, that he had both his hands – he'd like to cup her breasts in them, to thumb her nipples until they're stiff little peaks, and just run both his hands over her skin.

"Next week," she whispers, clasping his right hand in her left and lifting it to her breast. "Next week we'll do this again, and you can put both your hands on me."

He chuckles weakly, not even surprised that she knows what he was thinking. "You're going to make me wait another week before we do this again?" he asks, and pouts.

She laughs softly. "God, no! No way could I wait that long for a repeat." She begins unbuckling his belt, then pauses and says, "Lie down."

He obeys, lying back and watching as she gets his belt undone, then his pants, then drags them down his legs, to leave him in his boxers (which are tented out by his swollen shaft), and his socks. She drops his pants onto the floor and he tries not to wince at this cavalier treatment, then his socks come off, before she slips her fingers into the waistband of his boxers.

"Ready?"

He nods, biting his lip to silence the moan that wants to escape, and she lifts her right hand to brush the pad of her thumb across his lips. "Let go, Phil," she says softly. "Please don't ever hold yourself back with me."

"Can you – would you do that thing again, with my vibrations?"

She gives him a shy smile. "Tell me if it gets uncomfortable, okay, 'cos I've never done this before."

He nods, and after a moment he feels the same pulsing in his nerve-endings that seems to intensify his arousal. 

"Okay?" Skye asks, and he nods, then reaches for the sweatpants she also borrowed from him after her shower. She gives him a little grin, then says, "Easier if I do that, don't you think?" When he nods again, she gets to her feet and slips out of the pants, tossing them onto the pile of clothes lying beside the bed.

Coulson can't help moaning at the sight of her as she moves to stand naked above him. She smirks at him, then kneels down and gets rid of his boxers finally; he's watching her face as she sees his cock, and he could swear it hardens more when she licks her lips as she reaches out to curl her fingers around his hot flesh.

"There's condoms in the drawer of my nightstand," he tells her, his breathing becoming ragged as she touches him so intimately.

"Do you want to use one?" she asks. "'cos I'm covered, as you know." 

He nods. He does know, of course, because it's on her file, just as everyone else's sexual health is on their files. "If you want me to, I can wear one," he says. 

She shakes her head. "I think I'd like it if you didn't."

He swallows hard, and she grins, and he guesses she can sense how much he likes that thought. He tries to distract her by slipping his hand between her thighs, then is distracted himself when he discovers just how wet she is already.

" _Skye, please_ ," he moans, and she shifts over him, then guides his cock into her slick heat, sinking down slowly until he's buried to the hilt inside her.

"Fuck!" 

He realises he's never heard her swear before, and decides it's just as well he hadn't because it turns out that's a turn-on for him too. "I should warn you, I'm not gonna last long. It's been a long time for me."

"Well likewise, Director," she says, then gives him a questioning look. "Am I the first since your resurrection?" He nods, and she leans down, then begins kissing him lazily. "So I'm getting to take your virginity, am I?"

He chokes at the thought, and she pulls her head back to look at him, her expression worried, and he hastens to reassure her. "I'm glad it's you," he says. "Makes it more special."

She nods. "And you're my first since I got my powers, so you could say you're taking my second virginity, too."

"I like that," he says, and she smirks. 

"That's a lot of firsts for one night," she observes, then begins to rock gently back and forth, and he clasps her waist as best he can, one-handed, and moves underneath her.

She comes first, her hips stuttering as she orgasms, and it's enough to tip Coulson over the edge. He thrusts hard, doing his best to stay deep inside her as his orgasm seems to rip through him.

"Yeah, Phil. Come for me, Phil."

Skye's softly-worded encouragement is like the icing on the cake as he pumps his hips and empties himself into her. She groans, then flops down on top of him, nuzzling the side of his neck.

"That was better than I ever imagined," she says quietly.

"Imagined it a lot, have you?" he asks curiously.

She sounds a bit embarrassed when she tells him, "Quite a lot."

"Skye, have you been wanking while fantasising about sex with me?" When she doesn't immediately answer, he nips at her earlobe, then says, "'cos I have. Rather an embarrassing amount."

She lifts her head to look at him, and she can no doubt tell that he's telling the truth. "I'd like to see that sometime." He frowns, and she elaborates, "I'd like to watch you wanking while you tell me some of your fantasies about me."

He groans at the idea, and she gives him a smug grin. "And if you're very good, I'll return the favour," she says; of course, he knows then that he'll have to do it, 'cos he definitely wants to hear about her fantasies.

"Deal," he says, "but after I get my new hand."

She nods agreement, then rolls off him. They get themselves cleaned up, then pull the covers back over themselves. Coulson can't remember the last time he felt so relaxed, not counting the fake memories of fake massages in TAHITI, but it feels good when Skye snuggles up against his back, her arms wrapped around his torso. She presses a kiss to the nape of his neck.

"G'night Phil."

"Goodnight, Skye."


	5. Telepathic Trauma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson and Skye encounter a telepathic person.

Coulson's had his new, robotic prosthetic hand for two weeks, and both he and Skye have finally got used to the fact he has two hands to hold her with again, which is something they both relish. Since their first night together, they've slept together half a dozen times – he'd gladly have shared his bed with her every night, but she's carried out five Caterpillars missions in the three weeks since she stopped visiting her father, and those missions usually require at least one overnight absence, sometimes two, if the newly empowered person is especially traumatised. Coulson tells himself he doesn't mind her absences because he knows that the work she's doing is very important, and while that is true, he does mind her absences – having her around, sharing his office, sometimes sharing his bed, is a good thing, he thinks.

Andrew seems to agree, too. They're in the office Andrew uses when he's visiting the Playground, rather than at Skye's secret base for powered and enhanced people (which she's named _Umbra_ , meaning safety, shadow, and darkness, among others things, and a more apt name he can't imagine), and he brings up Coulson's relationship with Skye. It's the first time Coulson's talked to Andrew since they've begun sleeping together.

"I gather from Skye that you and she have – how did she put it – taken the next step in your relationship."

Coulson's eyebrows rise. "Did she really say that?" he asks curiously.

Andrew smirks. "Actually, what she said was 'He made a home run'."

Coulson coughs at this, while acknowledging to himself that this is far more likely to be the phrase she used. She'd discovered he played Little League as a kid from an idle comment he made, and has been egging him on to show off his baseball skills for her.

"It's true," Coulson says. "We've consummated our relationship." 

Andrew nods. "And before you got your replacement hand, too," he says. Coulson frowns at him, and he elaborates, "Not every amputee feels comfortable in intimate situations. I consider it a good sign of the strength of your relationship."

Coulson gives a shrug, feeling a bit uncomfortable with Dr Garner's praise. "It was Skye," he says. "Even before she gained her powers and started seeing the world via its vibrations, she saw the world differently to most people. Including me."

Andrew nods again. "True. But I still consider it a positive thing. You must be missing her when she's off on her Caterpillar missions?"

Coulson sighs. "Yeah. I don't just miss the sex. It's the little things, too. I miss talking things over with her, and her bullshit detector is a real bonus – she doesn't let me get away with anything."

Andrew chuckles, then asks, "Have you considered going with her on her Caterpillar missions?"

Coulson's surprised by the question. "No. It's her Project."

"Of course," Andrew says, "but she's taken Agents Fitz, Simmons, Morse, and May along on different occasions. Now that you've got both your hands, is there any reason you shouldn't go on one as well?"

"I – " He pauses and rubs his hand – his left hand – over his face, then says, "I hadn't really given it any thought. I wouldn't want her to think I don't trust her, or that I'm looking over her shoulder constantly."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that," Andrew observes, "but have you considered that maybe she'd like your company? Or do you think the fact that you're in an intimate relationship now will get in the way of you working together in the field?"

Coulson immediately shakes his head. "No. Skye's too professional. Besides, our relationship's always been very close."

"True. On the other hand, though, I think you've only ever been in the field together on one occasion – when your team worked with Ward." 

There's a little hint of distaste in Andrew's voice as he says the latter name, and Coulson's surprised by it: Andrew is nothing if not professional, and it's not like him to be unable to hide his personal feelings. On the other hand though, given what Ward had done to his team, including Melinda May, Andrew's distaste probably isn't so surprising.

Coulson nods an acknowledgement. "Did Skye talk to you about this?" he asks.

Andrew's eyebrows go up. "Phil, you know I won't talk to you about what Skye's said to me behind her back."

Coulson frowns. "You brought up the fact that she told you we're having sex now."

"Yes I did, because she specifically asked me to talk to you about it. She was concerned that you wouldn't mention it, if I didn't bring it up. It is, after all, a secret relationship – Melinda and I are still the only two people you've told, aren't we?"

Coulson nods. "Although if the others don't at least suspect, I might have to re-evaluate their observation skills."

Andrew chuckles. "It wouldn't surprise me if they do," he says. "But they're used to dealing with secrets – even those who haven't been agents for very long."

Coulson can guess that Andrew's referring to Lance Hunter; the man has, historically, been the most vocal about Coulson needing a woman in his life, as he phrases it.

"You might want to think about going on a Caterpillar mission with Skye – I think she'd appreciate your company, and it certainly wouldn't do you any harm to get a close up on the work she's doing. She may be team leader, but she's still your subordinate, even without Levels."

Coulson nods, then asks, "Do you think she'd accept if I offered her the role of Co-Director?"

He can see he's surprised the other man with this question. "I don't know. Are you planning to?" 

"I've been thinking about it quite a bit lately," Coulson admits. "She already does a lot of the work of a Co-Director anyway – we've designed quite a few missions together, some she's designed solo, with input from me if she's needed it. She's a natural team leader, and she'd be good at it."

Andrew nods. "I don't doubt she's capable of doing the job," he says, "but maybe it's a little early to give it to her. I'd suggest you give her another half year as Team Leader on Project Caterpillar – that, in itself, is a lot of responsibility for someone who's only been an agent for such a relatively short time. And she'll have more confidence in her leadership skills by then. It will also give the Council more time to adjust to having Skye around."

Coulson snorts. He's not sure that the Council will ever get used to having around an Inhuman with continent-destroying powers – but at least they tolerate her a bit better than Robert Gonzales did. Well, most of them – Tomas Calderon seems unlikely to ever forgive Skye for injuring him, despite the fact it was done in self-defence when he was planning to kill her. If Coulson didn't have the Council to answer to, he'd have had Calderon in Brigadier General Talbot's custody by now. As it is, Calderon stays aboard the _Iliad_ , with the rest of the Council.

"All right," he says, "I'll wait before offer Skye the post of Co-Director."

Andrew nods, and they draw the session to a close shortly afterwards. 

AC-S-AC-S-AC

"Hey, AC!" Skye blows into his office after lunch like a breath of fresh air, a tablet precariously tucked under one arm, and a stack of paper files balanced in front of her. He gets to his feet and moves across the office to take some of them from her before they end up scattered across the floor.

"Thanks," she says, puffing at some loose strands of hair that are falling into her eyes. He sets the files down on her desk, then reaches over to brush her hair aside. She gives him a radiant smile, and he swallows hard, trying to calm the surge of arousal that's flooding him. Skye bites her bottom lip, her eyes dropping downwards, which of course just makes him grow more aroused when he realises that she's checking him out. 

He clears his throat, and her eyes snap up to his. "Sorry, Phil," she whispers, and he shakes his head.

"It's as much my fault as yours," he tells her.

"Yeah, but you don't go around reading my vibrations, like I do yours."

He shrugs. "Still not your fault," he reminds her. She didn't ask for her powers after all.

She turns away and sets the rest of the files on top of the ones he already put on her desk, and he's opening his mouth to speak further when there's a soft chime from her tablet.

"Is that – ?" 

"A Caterpillars alert? Yeah." 

"Mind if I come with you?" he asks.

She gives him a wide-eyed look, then grins in obvious delight. "I'd love you to," she says, clearly very pleased by the request.

"Anything I need to bring?"

"Besides your badass self?" she teases, and he feels himself blushing. "Overnight bag – bring enough for two nights, just in case."

He nods, and goes to pack some clothes and his toiletries. He feels as excited as a kid about to go on a treat, and he tries to swallow down some of that excitement because he knows Skye will notice. He doesn't want to embarrass her, although maybe she wouldn't be embarrassed by his excitement – it occurs to him that he doesn't know how she'll react. He then wonders if she's been waiting for him to ask if he can accompany her.

He meets her in the hangar, and notes that May and Fitz are the only other agents accompanying them. "No Jemma?" he asks Skye quietly as May strides towards the cockpit, while Fitz fusses around with his bag and his seat straps.

"Lincoln's meeting us there," she says.

He nods, unsure what to say. He knows, because of course he reads Skye's reports, that she's been working with Lincoln Campbell if Jemma Simmons hasn't been available for a Caterpillars mission, but he hasn't seen the young man since he and Skye left for Afterlife, just before everything went to hell in the worst possible way. Coulson hadn't even seen much of Lincoln when he was at the Playground anyway – he'd been far too busy dealing with Gonzales and his 'Real SHIELD' at the time.

"Is Lincoln okay with you working under SHIELD's auspices when you're dealing with Inhumans?"

"He's not exactly ecstatic about the situation," Skye says, "but he knows that it's safer than allowing Inhumans to struggle to help each other when there's no Afterlife to back them up."

Coulson nods his understanding. Once May's got them in the air and the autopilot set for their destination, she joins them in the back of the Quinjet and Skye briefs them on their newest probable recruit for Umbra. The briefing doesn't take long because they don't yet know much about the new Inhuman, except that he's a young man in his mid-teens, and has been 'acting off' for two days according to the report that Skye's intercepted from the young man's mother to his school counsellor.

After the briefing May returns to the cockpit, and Coulson asks, "You track certain keywords to find potential new Inhumans, don’t you?"

Skye nods. "Gordon had a Diviner, and when Raina and I were transformed, it 'lit up', so he told me, which was how he and Jiaying knew that our Terrigenesis had taken place 'old school'. But with Gordon and Jiaying gone, I had to find other ways to track potentials – so I have keywords and phrases that get flagged up from medical or psychiatric reports – Andrew helped me with some of the latter words and phrases – and then I check people's social media accounts, and other reports." She sighs. "It's all a bit hit and miss, of course, but not being a Kree, like Vin-Tak, it's the best I can do." 

He nods, wishing there was some way to make this easier for Skye. He knows she worries about the remnants of HYDRA, or some other group, recruiting newly transformed Inhumans for nefarious purposes. Sometimes he really wishes that SHIELD still has the kind of resources he had at his disposal two years ago.

They pass the remainder of the journey, which isn't long, in silence, then Skye leads them down the ramp and onto the airfield where Lincoln is waiting for them with an unmarked black van. He doesn't look too thrilled to see Coulson beside Skye, but Coulson's not really interested in whether or not Lincoln likes him – all that matters is that they help the teen who's just found himself with powers.

"I'll drive," Skye announces, "Director Coulson, you're up front with me. Lincoln, you can ride in the back with Agents Fitz and May."

Seeing Lincoln's thunderous expression, Coulson swallows down the impulse to say he'll ride in the back with May and Fitz – this is Skye's mission, not his, and he's not going to try to tell her how to do her job.

As they climb into the van, Skye looks over her shoulder. "Lincoln, can you brief Agents May and Fitz on what you've learned about Eric's background?"

"Okay."

Coulson thinks Lincoln sounds a bit mollified by this request, and he feels some of his own tension uncoiling again. He looks over at Skye, and sees from her expression that she knows he's been feeling awkward. She gives him a small smile, and he smiles back, but doesn't say anything: he has to treat her as the Team Leader, and not undermine her authority in any way. 

Coulson listens in as Lincoln briefs May and Fitz, explaining that Eric has been reacting strangely to the people around him, particularly his family and friends. 

"We think that he's telepathic," Lincoln says, "but we haven't been able to verify that yet. However, some of the conversations people have reported having with him make it the most likely scenario."

"Can you – uh – can it be – um, you know – turned off?" asks Fitz tentatively.

"No. No Inhuman can switch off their powers – all we can do is learn to control them, and some, of course, are much easier to control than others. We can hopefully teach him how to shield his mind from other people's thoughts so that they are less intrusive to him – but that could be quite a long process." There's a pause, then Lincoln asks carefully, "Do you know of any way to shield a person's mind electronically?"

"Not something I've – uh – given much thought to," Fitz says. "I could ask Jemma – see if we could come up with something. But it's – um – also likely to be a long process."

Lincoln sighs. "That's what I thought you'd say. Well, we'll just have to do the best we can."

They arrive at an apartment building, and Skye tells May and Fitz to stay in the van while she, Coulson, and Lincoln go upstairs to meet Eric and his mom. "It's only a small apartment," Skye tells Coulson as they head inside, "so we don't want to crowd them out with strangers."

"I don't know why you had to bring the Director along," Lincoln mutters, but loudly enough for Coulson to hear.

"He's my boss," Skye says in a sharp tone, "and as such, I wanted the Director to see the work we're doing. He has ultimate responsibility for it, after all."

Lincoln's face reddens, and he keeps his gaze sharply averted as they ride up to the eighth floor in the elevator. Coulson feels Skye's right hand brush gently against his left, and he glances sideways at her to give her a small smile, which she returns.

Once they're inside the apartment, Lincoln defers to Skye, which makes Coulson breathe easier. It's obvious that Skye's done this kind of thing before because she pitches the explanations at just the right level – centring her attention on Eric, but fully aware of his mother's anxieties too. 

It quickly becomes clear to Coulson, however, that Eric is not 'buying' Skye's pitch; he displays a surprising level of antagonism, and Coulson wonders what, if anything, he's picking up from the three of them, if he is actually telepathic.

Coulson can tell that Skye's aware of Eric's agitation, and he wonders if she's trying to calm him – she's been developing a technique to do this by affecting a person's vibrations, and he thinks she's got pretty good at it, but if she is trying to use it on Eric, it's definitely not working.

"You're all monsters!" he yells suddenly, cutting into Skye's conversation with Eric's mom. He throws himself across the coffee table, but instead of launching himself at Skye, as Coulson was anticipating, he grabs Coulson. There's nothing Coulson can do to stop him (they don't bring even ICERs to meetings like this, unless Skye deems it really necessary), and the two of them crash onto the floor amid cries of surprise from Eric's mom and Lincoln. 

Eric clamps his hands over Coulson's temples and the Director experiences a flood of images, emotions, and thoughts into his mind that at first just make him dizzy and light-headed, but then he can feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. He hears Skye shouting "No, Eric, don't!", then feels her hands brush against his face as she tries to pull Eric's hands away, but he blacks out before she can succeed.


	6. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Coulson have to work through the consequences of the telepathic attack on him.

Skye, with Lincoln's help, manages to get Eric off Coulson, but it's not easy because they don't want to hurt him if they can avoid it – that's not the way to make a good first impression, after all. 

"Better sedate him," she mutters quietly, and Lincoln, although he looks unhappy about it, does so. 

Skye leaves Eric, and his mother, to Lincoln to deal with, and turns her attention to Coulson. She's not sure exactly what Eric did to the Director, but she assumes it was some kind of telepathic attack from the way the teen was holding Coulson's head, and the fact that Coulson's now unconscious. She scans his vibrations, but nothing looks any different to the way it looks when he's asleep in his bed.

She taps her earbug and requests May and Fitz to join them, briefly stating that their meeting hasn't gone well. She turns her attention back to Eric's mom; Mrs Lancing doesn't look too happy at what's happened, but Lincoln has got her onside by explaining that Eric's new gift was making him a danger to himself as well as everyone else.

"We'll be taking him with us to our facility," Skye tells her. "You're welcome to come along with us to see that we're not going to lock him away somewhere, or do awful experiments on him." 

Mrs Lancing's wide eyes make it clear to Skye that such a possibility hadn't occurred to her, and Skye can't help thinking she's a lucky woman. 

"You should pack some clothes and things," Skye tells her, "enough for two or three nights stay, as we don't know how long it'll take to stabilise Eric."

Mrs Lancing nods, then looks down at Coulson, who is still out for the count. "Will your friend be all right?"

"I expect so," Skye says, with far more confidence than she actually feels right now.

Mrs Lancing goes to pack a bag, and Skye turns to Lincoln. "Any ideas what Eric just did to the Director?"

He shakes his head. "Not exactly. Some kind of telepathic attack, I assume."

"I assumed that," Skye says, a little snippily, and sees Lincoln narrow his eyes. Before he can speak, however, May and Fitz appear, and Skye briefly explains what's happened. "I'll need you to head back, Agent May, and collect Dr Garner and Dr Simmons, please. Dr Simmons knows Director Coulson's medical history inside out, so she will be able to help him more effectively than Lincoln. And I'd like Dr Garner's assessment of Eric's mental state ASAP."

"What about me?" Fitz asks quietly as May nods to Skye's instructions.

"Eric's an engineering nerd, apparently," she tells Fitz, ignoring his slight wince at her phrasing. "I'm hoping you can befriend him. But, more practically, I need you to help Mrs Lancing get Eric down to the van, while Lincoln and I move the Director."

It's not easy, but half an hour later, May's en route to the Playground, while Skye's group are on their way to Umbra. Lincoln's driving, while Skye's in the back of the van with the others. This has less to do with her desire to remain physically close to Coulson (although she does want that), than her hope to get some more information from Mrs Lancing about her son's state of mind – she wants some clue as to why Eric attacked Coulson rather than herself as she can't imagine Coulson could have been thinking anything awful enough to make Eric want to hurt him – it's not in Coulson's nature.

Eric's mom can't help shed any light on her son's behaviour, but she's brought her son's phone and laptop at Skye's request, so Skye begins going through his texts and emails, scanning them with the speed borne of long practice of seeing patterns where others do not.

"Damn," she mutters, and Fitz stirs beside her. 

"What is it?" he asks, and she's pleased that he speaks as quietly as she did; Eric's mom is currently talking to Lincoln so that gives them some cover.

"Look at this," Skye says, and shows him a couple of email conversations with someone calling himself VisionOne. The emails are discussing Ultron, Tony Stark, and the recent events surrounding the Avengers battle against von Strucker.

"This doesn't look good," Fitz says.

"No, it doesn't," Skye agrees worriedly. She looks down at the sleeping teen and wonders if SHIELD was too late, and someone already got to him.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

To Skye's relief May arrives at Umbra with Andrew and Jemma less than an hour after her own arrival there, and Skye immediately briefs them on everything that had happened after she and others arrived at the Lancing apartment. Andrew joins Mrs Lancing in the otherwise empty Infirmary, where Eric's sleeping off the sedative Lincoln gave him – they're expecting him to wake up soon. Jemma, meanwhile, accompanies Skye to her quarters where Coulson is lying unconscious in Skye's bed.

"Is there any particular reason why Director Coulson's in here and not in the Infirmary?" Jemma asks.

"Well for one thing, I didn't want to risk a repeat of Eric's over-reaction to Coulson if he woke up and saw Coulson in the Infirmary too," Skye says, "and for another, it's much quieter in here. Not knowing what Eric did to Coulson, I thought it possible that too much stimulus might be detrimental to the Director's health once he recovers consciousness."

Jemma looks impressed by Skye's reasoning, and she bites back the urge to remind her friend that while she might be a high school dropout, she's not totally ignorant; she doesn't say any of that however, because she knows that Jemma didn't mean to imply Skye's stupid – Skye's conscious that she's overreacting a little because she's worried that she might betray her closer relationship with Coulson to Jemma, or even worse, to Lincoln. He's been dropping hints, ever since they started working at Umbra together, about wanting to go out on a date with Skye, and so far she's put him off by claiming to be too busy with her SHIELD projects – which isn't actually a lie, but nor is it the whole truth. She is worried that if she rejects Lincoln outright, he'll stop helping with Project Caterpillar, and she has too little support from the Inhumans to want to risk losing the little she does have. She knows that a good many of the older Inhumans who might otherwise have been willing to assist in Project Caterpillar won't on principle: some of them resent Skye's continuing involvement with SHIELD, others don't trust her because she went the 'old school' route with her Terrigenesis, and a handful blame her for her mother's actions in attacking SHIELD first, reasoning that if Skye hadn't been with SHIELD, they wouldn't have found out about Afterlife. 

Skye watches, then helps, as Jemma hooks Coulson up to an EEG and various other monitors she can't name; once the monitors are in place, there's nothing else Skye can do to assist, but she's not willing to leave Coulson, even if he is in good hands, so she sits at her desk in the corner and begins the task of trying to trace who is behind the 'VisionOne' ID.

She's deep in code when she hears Coulson crying out, and she spins around quickly in her chair. Jemma is already moving from the trunk at the foot of Skye's bed which she'd been sitting on in lieu of another chair.

"What is it?" Skye asks anxiously. Coulson's distressed – she can sense that from the agitated nature of his vibrations. 

"He's waking up," Jemma says.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Skye asks, confused.

"It might not be, no," Jemma says, and Skye says her friend's name in a sharp tone, prodding her for an explanation. "It seems possible, likely even, that Eric has somehow caused the Director to become telepathic also – it might only be temporary, I can't tell yet – and if that's the case, the Director may be reacting to our mental processes."

"Is there any way to find out if Coulson is telepathic?" Skye demands immediately.

"Not until he's fully awake," Jemma says. "We've never encountered a telepath before, so I've no data with which to make comparisons."

Skye opens her mouth to respond, but Coulson groans loudly, distracting them both, then gasps, his hands flying up to clutch at his head.

"Stop shouting," he begs, his voice raspy.

Skye reaches over and wraps her hands around his wrists, gently easing his hands away. "No one is shouting, AC," she tells him softly. "There's only me and Jemma here, and we were talking quietly."

She hears Jemma muttering under her breath and guesses that Coulson's words are confirmation that he is telepathic now. She wraps her left hand around both of his, then reaches up to cup his left cheek with her right hand, and concentrates on calming his vibrations. As she does that she thinks quietly to him, telling him that she loves him and she'll help him get through this, reminding him that Jemma's very smart.

"Skye?" He whispers her name, and she bites her lip because he sounds horribly vulnerable – even worse than that day in the Canadian wilderness.

"I'm here, AC," she tells him, speaking softly. She's projecting calming, peaceful thoughts to him, and soothing his vibrations at the same time.

"It hurts," he says, and she swallows.

"I know," she tells him. 

"Make it stop, please?" he begs, and she's reminded of that day she found him in Raina's machine, begging to die. "No, don't!" he gasps, and she immediately puts the memory out of her mind, and concentrates instead on memories of them kissing or snuggling up together in bed. She remembers one night last week when he'd been lying in bed reading an old SSR manual that someone had dug up, and she'd come into his room; he hadn't even looked up from the manual, he'd simply lifted his right arm, inviting her to join him without words. She'd climbed into the bed beside him, sliding in under his arm to rest her head on his shoulder, and he'd dropped his arm, tightening it around her, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She'd fallen asleep in that position, and hadn't even woken when he put aside the manual and took off his reading glasses. She'd felt safe and cherished, and she does her best to make him feel the same way right now.

He sighs, his body relaxing against her bed, and she strokes her thumb along his cheekbone, doing her best to keep him calm.

Once it's clear that he's asleep, Jemma grabs her forearm and nods towards the door of Skye's room. They step out into the corridor, and Jemma asks in an excited whisper, "What did you do? His brainwaves and everything – heart rate, blood pressure – all calmed down. I thought I'd have to sedate him to achieve that."

"You know I can read vibrations, right?" Skye asks, and the young scientist nods. "Well everything vibrates – the world itself, objects within the world, and people too. I can 'read' the vibrations of everything and everyone around me. And I've been learning to affect people's vibrations as well."

"How?"

"Coulson's been letting me experiment on him."

Jemma looks startled, then anxious. "Isn't that rather dangerous though? I mean, I know you've got a lot better at controlling your powers, but to be trying out new things, without knowing what effect you'll have, and without any kind of supervision – "

"Who do you suggest supervises?" Skye asks. "You? Because how would you even know if what I was doing was going to hurt Coulson?" Jemma looks a bit abashed, and Skye swallows, then continues, "Jemma, in all the time you've known me, how often have I hurt anyone else?"

The scientist blushes. "You've only ever hurt yourself," she says, "trying to keep the rest of us from getting hurt."

"Exactly. Hurting Coulson is the last thing I'd want to do – which makes him the best 'test subject' if you want to call him that. He trusts me 100%, Jemma, you know that. And having someone who does trust me that much is exactly what I need in order to experiment. There's no one else I can get help from, with my mother dead, and the majority of Inhumans resenting me at best, and hating my guts at worst."

"Fitz told me you used your powers to take the air from Ward's lungs," Jemma says. "Did you experiment on the Director in order to learn how to do that?"

Skye folds her arms over her chest. "I did."

"What if you'd killed him the way you killed Ward?" Jemma's sounding agitated now, and her voice is getting louder, so Skye grabs her arm and marches her further down the corridor away from the door of her room.

"We had oxygen on standby," Skye tells her. "Come on, Simmons, you're a scientist, you know that field tests are a necessary part of the process."

"But – " 

"Jemma." Skye's sharp tone seems to surprise her friend. "Look, if you really want to make a big deal of this, discuss it with Coulson as well as me, okay? But just remember this, _he_ volunteered for this. I didn't coerce him – I didn't even ask him to help – he volunteered. And he trusts me."

Jemma shifts, looking uncomfortable, and Skye sighs. "What?" she asks in a softer tone.

"Well, it's just that you know how he is – he's always been very fond of you, and thought very highly of you."

Skye raises her eyebrows. "Are you saying you think Director Coulson's allowed his feelings for me to compromise his judgement? Because I wouldn't repeat that to him, if I were you. He had enough of that from Gonzales and co., he wouldn't appreciate hearing it from you, too. And I'll remind you that if it wasn't for me and my experiments with Coulson, we wouldn't have got you back out of that Kree monolith."

Jemma flushes, then ducks her head. "I'm sorry, Skye," she says quietly. "I guess that experience freaked me out."

"I understand that, Jemma," Skye says. "And I appreciate you being concerned about Coulson's well being, but try to remember that he's the Director of SHIELD, and he can pretty much overrule all of us any time he wants."

Jemma nods, then looks up. "You really care about him, don't you?"

Skye rolls her eyes. "Everyone knows that."

"No, but – " She looks away, and Skye can guess where Jemma's going with this, but she's not going to put words into her friend's mouth. "You can tell me it's none of my business, if you like, but are you and the Director involved?"

Skye smirks. "Are we 'involved'?" she asks, making air quotes around the last word.

"Yeah, you know, romantically?" Jemma's blushing by now, and Skye's tempted to prolong her embarrassment, but she doesn't.

"We are. That a problem?"

"No. No, no," she says very quickly. "How long?"

"A couple of months," Skye tells her. "We've only told May and Andrew. May because she's my SO, and Andrew because he's our psychiatrist."

"Why haven't you told the rest of us?"

"Honestly?" Jemma nods. "Mostly because we're both pretty private people and we don't really want to discuss our personal lives in great detail, even with our colleagues and friends. But also because there are still some people within SHIELD who believed that my relationship with Coulson, even before we began sleeping together, compromised him. Can you imagine how they'd react if they knew just how close Phil and I are?"

Jemma's eyes widen. "He lets you call him 'Phil'?"

"In private, yes." 

Jemma frowns. "When you're here, and you talk about him, you always refer to him as 'Director Coulson'."

"Of course," Skye says. "When I'm here, he's my boss, and I'm the project leader – it's important – and necessary – to keep my personal and professional relationships with Coulson separate."

Jemma nods, and Skye asks, "So, Director Coulson – he's definitely become telepathic as a result of whatever it was Eric did to him?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Is it permanent or temporary?"

"I honestly don't know, at this stage. I need to get some readings from Eric, and then compare them, and hope that such readings will help me clarify the situation."

Skye nods. "Why don't you go and see Eric," she suggests. "I'll stay with Coulson in case he wakes up again."

"You know we may have to isolate him," Jemma says.

"Not from me," Skye says. "After all, I'm the one who calmed him down – not just emotionally, but physiologically."

"Yeah." Jemma sighs, then says, "I'll have to grab my tablet from your room, and then I'll go and see Eric."

"Okay."

Jemma disappears down the corridor, and Skye goes back into her room. Coulson is sleeping soundly and his vibrations shown no sign of agitation, so she goes back to her desk and her coding. She's soon digging deep into Eric's online activity, and it takes her hardly any time to carry out a back trace to 'VisionOne'.

Her attention is dragged back to her surroundings when she hears Coulson croakily calling her name, and getting up, she moves swiftly over to her bed.

"I'm here, Phil."

He looks exhausted, and Skye perches on the side of the bed, then stretches out beside him, slipping her arms around him and pressing her forehead to his temple. 

"What's up, Phil?" 

"Thirsty," he says, then asks, "Where am I?"

"In my quarters at Umbra. Do you remember we went to see Eric Lancing, the newly empowered Inhuman teen?"

"Oh god." He gasps, then tries to push Skye away, and she immediately slides off the bed, then catches his left hand in her right. 

"What is it?"

"Sick," he mutters, and she helps him off the bed, then through into her ensuite bathroom. He vomits, and she gives him a glass of water to rinse his mouth, then wipes his face with some toilet tissue. 

"Better?"

"Can't think about him," Coulson says through gritted teeth. "What did he do to me?"

"Some sort of telepathic attack, so far as we've been able to establish."

"Why?"

"He's been in communication with someone who goes by the handle of 'VisionOne'," Skye tells him. "So far as I can find out, his name's Krause, and he's a former associate of the late von Strucker. He's trying to recruit Inhumans to build an army."

Coulson utters a wordless noise of disgust at this. "Prognosis?"

"At the moment we don't have one, sorry. Jemma's trying to discover whether or not this is a temporary or permanent situation."

He sits on the bathroom floor, his back against the wall and looks up at her as she crouches beside him. "I don't want this," he says.

"I know," she says softly. She takes both his hands in hers and concentrates on sending him calming thoughts; she can feel the agitation that had been building while she talked beginning to subside.

"Let's get you back to bed," she says after about ten minutes. 

He lets her help him to his feet, then he puts his arms around her. "God, Skye, I really don't want this. I can hear people thinking all over the building."

"I know, love." She hugs him back, then leads him back to her bed.

"I think you should ask Jemma to sedate me," he says as he lies back down again.

"I can do that, if that's what you want," she tells him.

He nods. "You need to work on finding this Krause, and I'm going to be a distraction."

She can't argue with that, so she nods. "I'll get her."

He grabs her hand before she can move away from the bed, and she leans down to kiss him chastely on the mouth. "I love you," he says when she straightens up.

She lifts an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you already know that I love you."

He gives her a weak smile. "Yeah." He squeezes her fingers, and she squeezes back. "Find Krause, Skye, please, and stop him."

"I will," she promises.

"Thank you."

AC-S-AC-S-AC

Skye goes to find Jemma, who's outside the Infirmary with Andrew and May. She tells them of Coulson's request: Jemma seems horrified at the idea, and May stoic, but it's Andrew who supports Coulson's decision:

"If he can hear people thinking all over the building, he'll be in agony," Andrew says quietly, eyes fixed on Jemma. "If he was suffering from physical pain, you wouldn't hesitate to give him painkillers, would you?"

"No, sir," Jemma says, looking a little shame-faced.

"Then you'll do it?" Skye asks, and gets a nod. "Thank you."

Jemma disappears into the Infirmary, and Andrew steps closer to Skye, May moving in beside him. "How are you holding up?" he asks.

"Fine," she says, and when they both give her a questioning look, she adds, "Look, I'll admit seeing the man I care most about in the world in such agony is no laughing matter, but I need to concentrate on finding this Krause and putting him down. I can't dwell on what Coulson's going through right now, because _right now_ I need to stop it." She nods at the Infirmary doors. "What did Eric tell you?"

"Not a lot," May says. "Poor kid's really confused."

"I think he's been brainwashed," Andrew puts in, and when Skye gives him a surprised look, he continues, "I'm not actually sure he's an Inhuman. Jemma's taken DNA and blood samples, which she'll look at as soon as she's finished assisting Director Coulson. But I think this Krause has done something to Eric."

Skye nods. "I'd better get back to tracking him down, then." She looks at May and Andrew, and asks, "Are you both able to stay?"

They both nod. "I've left Bobbi in charge at the Playground," May says. "Although if this goes on for too long – "

"Don't worry, it won't," Skye says firmly. "I'll find the bastard."

May nods, then joins Jemma as she returns.

"He's sleeping," Jemma tells Skye.

"Thank you, Jemma." She nods and goes back into the Infirmary with May, and Skye looks up at Andrew, aware that he has something further on his mind.

"Don't neglect your health for the sake of Phil," he says softly. "He wouldn't thank you for that."

"I know." 

He nods, briefly puts his hand on her shoulder and squeezes, then disappears back into the Infirmary with the others. Skye takes a deep breath, then returns to her quarters. She has work to do.


	7. Hero and Sidekick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye manages to track down the guy behind Eric's sudden telepathy.

It takes Skye two days to track Krause's location. She doesn't leave her quarters during that time. Except to eat, Coulson remains sedated, sleeping on her bed, and on both nights she snatches a couple of hours to sleep, stretching out beside him in the early hours of the morning, before returning to her laptop and her work.

Once she finally has a location, she asks Fitz to round up the others, and heads to the conference room. She doesn't want to leave Coulson alone, but Jemma has assured her that he won't wake for several more hours, so she presses a kiss to his temple, then grabs her laptop and makes her way upstairs.

She walks into the conference room to find May, Andrew, Fitz, Simmons, and Lincoln waiting for her. 

"How's Eric?" she asks Jemma.

"A lot more stable," the young doctor replies. "It appears Dr Garner's assessment was correct, that he is not an Inhuman – just an ordinary human who's been brainwashed and experimented on." 

She goes on to explain what she's found, and Skye listens attentively, then says, "I don't think Eric's the only one."

"There are more?" asks May.

"I think Eric's the fourth person this Krause has worked on."

"And you've found him?" Andrew asks.

"I have. He's in British Columbia."

"I'll prep the Quinjet," May says, turning to leave.

"You'll need to head back to the Playground first," Skye tells her. May turns back, eyebrows raised, and Skye says, "He's in the wilderness. We're going to need snow gear."

She sees Fitz and Simmons exchanging looks with May, and knows they're all recalling their previous trek in the Canadian wilderness.

"Not the Providence base?" Fitz asks doubtfully.

"No, as far as I know that's still in the army's hands. He's not as far north as that, but he is in an isolated area."

"I'll be back ASAP," May says.

"Bring Hunter and Bobbi with you when you come back."

May lifts an eyebrow, then nods and goes out without requesting any further explanation, and Skye swallows. It still seems weird, even after several months of running Project Caterpillar, to give orders to someone as experienced as May. She, however, never seems the least bit fazed by it.

"What's your plan?" asks Andrew, and Skye explains, laying out what she hopes they can achieve.

Lincoln's been listening with his arms folded over his chest during the briefing, but when Skye finishes and sends them off to collect their respective equipment, he remains behind. 

"So, what, I'm Sparky, your sidekick, now?" he asks. "You being the big superhero and all."

She frowns at him, reading the emotions in his vibrations: anger, jealousy, and frustration. "Look, I can't make you come with us – you're not a SHIELD agent, and this doesn't even involve any Inhumans, so far as I can tell – so if you'd rather stay here, say so, and we'll go without you. But I thought, you being a doctor first and foremost, that you'd want to help people who've obviously been used by someone who appears to have little conscience."

"That's not – " he begins, and she cuts him off.

"Lincoln, I don't think of myself as a superhero – and I'm pretty sure none of my friends do either. I'm pretty sure they remember all too well how I was breaking my own bones so I wouldn't hurt them with my powers. I'm a SHIELD agent, first, last, and always. Being an Inhuman is always going to be secondary to that. And I'm not interested in drawing the kind of attention that the Avengers provoke." Her arms are folded across her chest too, and there's not even a ripple of vibration in the room, but she can see he's wary nevertheless.

"I – " He says, then pauses and she can sense how conflicted he is, although she doesn't know him well enough to be able to 'read' the reasons for his conflict, though she does know he still has no great fondness for SHIELD.

"You know what, I've got stuff to organise, so I'm not gonna stand here and debate this with you. You have until May gets back to decide whether you want to come with us or not. If you do, you'll be welcome, and I'll see you on the roof with the others."

She swings around and marches out, her laptop tucked under her arm. 

AC-S-AC-S-AC

Leaving Coulson behind is a wrench, but she knows he can't come with them. After a little thought, she types up a preliminary report, then emails it to him. She leaves a tablet computer on the nightstand by her bed with a brief handwritten note on it telling him to check his email. Then she packs her overnight bag, stuffs her laptop into its case, and after pressing a brief kiss to Coulson's temple, she walks out of her quarters without looking back.

When she arrives on the roof only Andrew is already there, but Fitz and Simmons join them shortly afterwards, and then Lincoln shows up too. She gives him a nod to acknowledge his decision to come, but she doesn't break off her conversation with Fitz about the device he's built to suppress telepathic attacks. 

Once they're aboard the Quinjet, Fitz distributes the wristbands, which everyone slips on, then they settle in for the trip. Skye draws Bobbi and Hunter into the corner nearest the cockpit so that she can brief them fully on the situation. As she talks, she can't help missing Trip, which is nothing unusual, but she feels his absence rather more acutely than usual today. She knows from long experience that there's no use in weeping over the past, though, so she concentrates on the task at hand.

May lands the Quinjet a mile or so's hike from their target, and they pull on their snow gear, then set off. Skye's teamed Hunter and Andrew with May, and Fitz and Simmons with Bobbi, while Lincoln accompanies her – this way there's one person with good medical knowledge in each team.

They're silent on their hike as the terrain's rough enough for them all to want to save their breath and concentrate on staying on their feet. Once they're within a few hundred feet of the spot that, according to Skye's calculations, is where Krause is, they slip their earbugs into place, then split off into their teams as they approach the one-storey building that's their target.

Fitz has sent two of the Dwarves ahead of them, and he now reports that while the building in front of them has only one story above ground, there are three or four levels below ground.

They slip inside at their designated entry points, all of them pulling down the hoods on their coats, and shoving gloves and woolly hats into their coat pockets; the building isn't exactly warm, but at least there's no wind chill factor to deal with once they're inside. 

Skye leads the way, with Lincoln following; she can sense his unease, and she turns to reassure him when she sees his eyes go wide at the same time that she feels the vibrations of another person entering the hallway they're in. She spins, and has a brief, momentary glimpse of a dark-skinned young woman, before the woman is almost on her. Lincoln shoves past Skye and she calls out to him to wait, but he ignores her and grabs the young woman's hand and uses his powers. She's not sure what exactly happens next, but it's definitely not what Lincoln expected: he gives a pained grunt, and is then flung across the corridor to crash hard against the wall, and Skye senses he's been knocked out. The young woman's already turning her attention to Skye, but she's not about to wait to face the same treatment as Lincoln; she lifts her right hand and focuses her powers, and the young woman is, in turn, knocked off her feet and flung down the hall. Skye pulls out an ICER and shoots the young woman with a Dendrotoxin dose that'll leave her opponent unconscious for several hours. She hurries to Lincoln's side, and is relieved to discover he's not badly injured, though she suspects he'll have a headache and some spectacular bruises later.

"I've encountered one hostile," Skye tells the others. "She's down, but so is Lincoln."

"Any damage?" May asks.

"Nothing major," Skye tells her. "They're both unconscious." 

May acknowledges Skye, and asks, "Do you want one of us to join you?"

"It'll waste too much time for someone else to get here," Skye tells her. "Let's stick to our designated teams. See you down there."

"Copy that."

Skye makes her way down the corridor, ICER in hand, but no one else springs out at her, and at the end of the corridor she steps onto an elevator and takes it down to the lowest level; May's team will explore the second lowest level, while Bobbi's team takes the first of the underground levels. 

Skye steps out of the elevator into another boring beige corridor, and sets off along it, her ICER still in her hand. No one comes to meet her, but she doesn't let that fool her into assuming there's no one down here.

After about ten minutes of walking, the corridor branches left and right, and she takes the right hand fork because she's picking up vibrations there, indicating that there's at least one person at the further end. Skye cracks open the door at the far end of the corridor and slips within, pausing just inside to allow her eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting in the cavernous room. There are all sorts of machines in there that she cannot identify, but her attention is almost immediately caught by two figures at the far end of the room: one is tall, grey-haired, and has an arrogant bearing; the second is a young man about her own age.

Both turn as she strides down the room towards them, but then if her theories are right, the young man is telepathic, like Eric Lancing. 

"Oh look," says the older man, whom she assumes is Krause. "It's the Earthquake Girl. But where's your sidekick?" His tone is mocking. "Everyone knows that superheroes always have a sidekick."

"Your girl's upstairs," Skye tells him, ignoring his taunts.

"Dead?" asks Krause, looking sideways at the young man.

"Unconscious," he replies. 

Krause makes a tsking noise. "You just can't get the staff these days."

"Maybe if you didn't go around brainwashing people and then experimenting on them," Skye observes, stopping a few feet away from the pair, "the staff would do better?"

"Yawn," Krause says, and Skye frowns. "Take her."

His order's not unexpected, nor is it a surprise when the young man throws himself at her, but she's had over a year of training with Melinda May, who has taught her how to feint, how to react swiftly (unless she wants to end up flat on the mats), and never to relinquish any advantage you might have, so she simply shoots the young man with her ICER, putting him down before he can even get close.

Krause looks disbelieving, then shakes his head and claps his hands twice. Immediately four or five robots, which had been sitting folded down on themselves so that they looked like metal boxes, straighten themselves up around her.

Skye swears silently under her breath because people, even psychopaths, are a lot easier than robots. She taps her earbug to warn May of the presence of the robots, but gets only static back.

Krause sees the gesture and laughs. "You're all alone down here, Earthquake Girl – and I think you'll find you're not half as powerful as you believe." He gestures at the walls, and Skye squints at them in the dim lighting. "They're lined with vibranium," he says. "Goodbye."

He starts to walk away, and the robots close in around Skye, who shakes her head in disbelief.

"I think you're forgetting something, Krause," she calls, and when he turns, asking, "What's that?", she shoots him with her ICER. The look of pure astonishment on his face is priceless she decides, as he collapses to the floor. Of course, she doesn't really have to time to enjoy that small victory because she's facing five robots, each of them seven feet tall. Still, she'd bet there's something else Krause didn't think of, and as they converge on her, Skye holsters her ICER, then spreads the fingers of her right hand wide, concentrates, and aims her powers at the floor a short distance in front of her, just at the feet of the two nearest robots.

As she'd hoped, the floor is mere rock, and it gives way with a lot of noise and dust, toppling the two robots down into the hole she's just created. She doesn't pause, however, just swings around and aims another burst of her powers at the floor in front of the third robot, which also crashes into the cavern she's just created. 

She turns to the two robots at her back, but they're on her before she can create any more supersized holes in the floor, and the nearest one aims a swipe at her with an arm as long as she is tall. Skye drops flat to the floor, then lashes out with her right foot. Sadly the impact of her booted foot has no discernible effect on the robot – it just jars her leg quite painfully. She rolls away from the second robot as it punches down into the floor – which at least has the effect of doing what she didn't have time to do, creating another hole, into which it falls.

"Wow, I don't know who programmed you guys," she says, looking up at the final robot, "but I'm glad he wasn't Stark-levels of smart."

The robot doesn't respond, and she decides she's glad she doesn't have to deal with talking robots, at least. She gets to her feet, wondering if she can blow another hole in the floor without causing any kind of structural damage, just as the robot grabs her. It lifts her into the air, squeezing its hand tightly around Skye's body, and she gasps, wondering if it's just going to crush her to death. Just as she's wishing she'd had one more chance to speak to Coulson before she dies, the door at the end of the room opens, and she hears Bobbi calling her name. 

Some of Fitz's Dwarves come zooming into the room with him and the others, and Skye wonders what they'll be able to do against a seven-foot tall robot. The thought has barely crossed her mind when the Dwarves start firing beams of blue light at the robot's head.

"Fitz!" She tries to call to him, to find out what he's doing, but she can only croak feebly owing to the crushing grip the robot still has around her body. After several moments (it feels like hours to Skye, but she later learns it was barely two minutes) the robot's electronic systems seize up, and it topples sideways. Skye thinks she'd appreciate the almost poetic moment rather more if she wasn't currently clamped in the robot's fist. As it is, however, she blacks out from the violence of the crashing fall.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

Skye comes to with a groan, and is startled when a hand clasps her right hand, and a very familiar voice tells her, "Don't try to move too much yet."

She opens her eyes and looks up into Coulson's face, the look of relief in his eyes telling him she must have been unconscious for a while. His relief, however, is nothing compared to her own at the sight of him awake and leaning over her bed in the Infirmary. 

"You're a sight for sore eyes," she croaks at him, and gets a broad smile back.

"Let me help you," he says, when she tries to sit up. He eases her up until she's propped against the pillows, then grabs a bottle of energy drink from the top of the bedside cupboard. He kindly cracks it open for her, and she drinks gratefully. 

"How long have I been out?" she asks, "and how long have you been up?" She hopes he hasn't been up for hours while she's been unconscious, that would be completely unfair.

"You've been out about four hours," he tells her, perching on the side of the bed and gazing at her. "I've been up for thirty minutes. Dr Simmons wanted to be sure she had all of Krause's victims stabilised before she woke me."

She nods, then reaches out to clasp the front of his shirt, tugging him towards her. "I've missed you so much while you've been sedated."

He leans in and slides his arms carefully around her, and Skye realises that yes, she is aching horribly after that robot nearly crushed her to death. That doesn't stop her from hugging him back, however. She feels him heave a sigh, and can't blame him for that reaction.

"Thank you for saving my life again," he whispers, and brushes his lips against her neck.

"You're welcome, as always." 

They hold each other for some time, and Skye is strongly tempted to ask him to stretch out on the bed beside her so he can snuggle with her, but Jemma comes in, with May in tow, so she keeps that thought to herself.

To Skye's relief, Jemma's brought her something to eat as the energy drink alone wasn't enough to restore her after using her powers so extensively against Krause's robots. She sits and eats unselfconsciously as May brings her and Coulson up to speed on what's been happening while they've been unconscious. Krause is being handed over to Brigadier General Talbot, while Krause's three victims will be sent home the day after tomorrow, once Jemma and Dr Garner are both satisfied they'll suffer no ill effects from Krause's brainwashing. 

"Fitz has downloaded the specs for Krause's robots," May tells them, "but they're being dismantled as none of them is in good working order after their encounter with Skye, and Fitz's EMP blast."

"Good," Skye says feelingly. She looks hopefully at Jemma. "Can I get up, or at least relocate to my own quarters?"

"You can," Jemma agrees, "but I would recommend that you avoid any strenuous activity for the next 48 hours or so. Your body heals faster now that you're an Inhuman, but at the same time, you were very close to being crushed to death."

"Copy that," Skye says. She's not going to tell Jemma, but the idea of resting for 48 hours actually sounds like a good idea. 

"I'll keep an eye on her," Coulson says. 

"You also need keeping an eye on, Director," Jemma says, and Skye hides a smile at her stern tone.

"Look after each other," May says. "I need to be getting back to the Playground. I'll be taking Bobbi and Hunter back with me, but Fitz and Jemma will stay here until you're ready to come back. Let me know when you want to be fetched."

"Thank you, Agent May," Skye says, and the older woman gives her the usual half smile.

After May's gone, Skye remembers there's one more person no one's mentioned yet. "How's Lincoln?" 

"He came around a couple of hours ago," Jemma says. "He has headed home already as he had some things to do – I think his final exams are coming up soon. He said to call him if you needed his help, and muttered something about hoping it wouldn't be for a couple of months."

Skye doesn't comment on that – there seems little she can say about it. Jemma leaves after pulling some screens around her bed, and Skye gets dressed, with some help from Coulson because she is horribly sore.

"I'd suggest a long hot soak," Coulson tells her as he laces her boots for her, "if you only had a bathtub."

"I'll just have to stand under the shower for a bit," she tells him, then takes the hand he offers her. They walk slowly from the Infirmary to her quarters, and Skye tries not to resent how much she aches. She'll be glad to lie down again, she decides, and hopes that Coulson will lie with her: sex might be out of the question just now, but cuddling seems like a possibility, and she'd be the first to admit that Coulson's cuddles are very nice indeed.


	8. Time Travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Coulson unexpectedly find themselves time-travelling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to write Skoulson time-travelling for some time. Now I have.

A month goes by without any seriously life-threatening missions, which Skye reckons is too good to be true, although she hesitates to repeat that view to anyone, even Coulson. They've both recovered from their ordeal at the hands of Krause, who has been tried in secret, and is now very securely locked away. Skye's in contact with all three of Krause's victims, who are slowly adjusting to the powers they've been given. And in the last month she's located four more Inhumans, and helped them to begin to deal with the changes in their lives.

She and Coulson are currently in one of the Playground's other vaults, working their way through boxes of files and paraphernalia, stuff that had been left behind by Peggy Carter and the SSR. It's rather mind-numbing, but that's at least half the appeal, Skye thinks – it's mundane and doesn't pose any risks to life and limb, unless someone drops one of the heavy file boxes on their foot – which, so far, no one has. 

Everyone's been pitching in with this work, but they take it in turns to work down here, where the light's barely adequate, and the dust of decades clogs their throats and settles on their clothes and skin.

"What's this, do you suppose?" asks Skye, pulling a weird looking metal object from the bottom of a file box. It's shaped like a boomerang, but there's a gem of some kind in the middle – a highly polished orange coloured gem.

Coulson reaches over from the spot where he's sitting beside her on the floor, and as he brushes his thumb over the gem, the air around them seems to go blue, then ripples strangely.

"That was weird," Skye observes, then gapes as she takes in their surroundings – the vault is no longer stacked with box files. It's almost empty, in fact, apart from a couple of large gunmetal grey filing cabinets against the opposite wall, and a table in the middle of the room. "Coulson?" She's not sure why she's whispering, but she feels safer, somehow.

Coulson's staring at the object in Skye's hand with a worried expression that unnerves Skye, though not as much as the surge of panic that's colouring his vibrations.

"What is it?" she asks.

"I think it's one of the Infinity Gems," he tells her, "specifically the Time one."

She frowns at him, then pushes herself up to her feet. Coulson gets up too, then moves across to the long wooden trestle table in the middle of the room. There's a newspaper on the table, and a small stack of reports beside the paper.

"Oh damn," he whispers, and Skye hurries to stand beside him. He points at the newspaper, and she bites back a curse of her own as she sees the paper is dated September 8, 1952.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Skye exclaims quietly.

"No, I think we've travelled in time," he says. He picks up the topmost report, and shows it to her: it's dated September 2, 1952, the report is on SSR headed notepaper, and the paper is crisp, not decades old.

"Damn!"

Before they can discuss the situation they hear footsteps, a woman's high heels unless Skye's very mistaken, tapping along the corridor outside, and they exchange a glance as they both realise there's nowhere to hide in here. She glances down at the 'boomerang' in her hand, and Coulson seems to guess what she's thinking because he puts his hand over hers as she brushes her thumb over the gem in the centre of the device, but there's no blue ripple in the air this time. Skye barely has time to put her hand, still holding the device, behind her back before a woman comes through the doorway, then stops to stare at them with narrowed eyes. She looks astonished, Skye thinks, and much younger than in any of the photos of SHIELD's founding members that Skye has seen; Peggy Carter, in fact, looks only a handful of years older than Skye herself.

"Who are you?" she demands immediately. "And how did you get down here?"

Skye looks at Coulson, wondering if there's a SHIELD protocol for accidental time-travel.

"I'm Phil Coulson," he says, and before he can introduce her, Skye adds, "Daisy Johnson."

She can feel how surprised he is by her use of this name, but to her it makes sense – the idea of anyone having just one name would likely be purely ridiculous to someone in the 1950s. 

"What are you doing in here?" Peggy demands. "And what are you hiding behind your back Miss Johnson?"

Skye winces, then glances at Coulson again. He gives her a tiny nod, so she brings the device out from behind her back and lays it on the table, on top of the newspaper. 

"I wouldn't touch the gem in the middle," she tells Peggy. "We did, and that's how we ended up here."

"A teleportation device?" Peggy asks, sounding less hostile and more curious.

"Um," Skye says, then flounders, wondering whether to elaborate.

"It appears, in fact, to be a time travel device," Coulson says. "We're natives of 2015, not 1952."

Peggy gives them both a sharp look, and Skye shrugs. "Yeah, no, I didn't want to believe it, either."

"Can you prove you're from the future?" Peggy asks.

Skye pulls her cell phone from her pocket. "It's a mobile telephone," she says, showing it to Peggy. "Of course, it doesn't work – there's no signal here." Skye sags a bit at the enormity of the situation, and Coulson wraps his arm around her, murmuring soft words of encouragement. 

Peggy, who'd been turning the cell over and over, looks up at this, then asks, "You're not father and daughter?"

"Ew, no," Skye says immediately, barely suppressing a shudder. "We're partners. Coulson's the Director of the SSR's modern equivalent. I run my own team within the organisation."

Peggy passes the cell phone back to Skye. "I wouldn't advise you showing that to just anyone," she says.

"Nope," Skye agrees, pocketing it again. 

"Do I assume that you've been unable to activate this device to return home?"

"We tried, just before you came into the vault," Coulson tells her. "To no avail."

"Does it need power in order to function?" Peggy asks.

"We don't know," Coulson says. "Skye was holding it, after finding it in an old SSR file box, and I brushed my thumb over the gem. Then the air seemed to go blue and rippled a bit, and we found ourselves here, in the past."

"If Howard wasn't currently out of the country, I'd ask him to look at it," Peggy says, and Skye asks, "Howard, as in Stark? The playboy scientist?"

Peggy's eyebrows go up. "You've met him?" She sounds doubtful, which Skye supposes is hardly surprising since they claim to have come from more than sixty years into the future.

"I've met his son," Coulson tells her. "His adult son. But no, we haven't met Howard Stark – it's simply that his reputation is not yet dead in 2015."

Peggy nods, then says, "Well, if you're going to be stuck here for a while, you're going to need somewhere to stay, and a change of clothes. You can't go around dressed like that."

"Where do you suggest we stay?" Coulson asks. "Are there any good hotels – oh, no – "

He cuts himself off, no doubt realising, as Skye already has, that he has no way to pay for anything in 1952.

"As it happens, I'm staying at one of Howard's mansions with a friend, and there's plenty of rooms there – you two can stay with me and Angie until you're able to get back home. And we'll find you some clothes."

"Thank you, Agent Carter," Coulson says, and Peggy's eyebrows go up. "Your legacy is also far from dead in 2015."

She nods, then says, "You'd better come with me." She nods at the 'boomerang'. "And bring that."

Coulson picks it up, and Skye grabs the newspaper and folds it in half; he smiles, then hides the device inside the folded newspaper, and they follow Peggy upstairs and into a small room. 

"I'm going to call Jarvis and ask him to come and collect you, and drive you back to the mansion. I would strongly advise you to remain there until I return this evening. Ask him to find you some clothing suitable for this time period – that will probably keep you busy for a little while, at least."

"Thank you." 

She nods, then goes out, closing the door firmly behind her, and Skye takes a seat on the edge of the table, looking at Coulson. His earlier panic's subsided, but she can tell he's still uneasy.

"You okay, Phil?" she asks softly.

He steps in close, and Skye parts her knees so he can stand between her legs. She wraps her arms around him, and he copies her gesture.

"I hope we're not about to fuck up history," he says quietly, his chin resting on the top of her head.

"That thought had occurred to me, too," she admits. "How much of Agent Carter's story do you know, aside from the Captain America stuff?"

"Probably more than your average SHIELD agent," he admits, "being a fan of Captain America, and Peggy being his great love. Why?"

"I guess I was just wondering about her relationship with Howard Stark."

"Oh, it was nothing like that," Coulson says quickly, almost as if he's defending Peggy's honour, which makes Skye smile against his neck. He would defend Peggy's honour, too, she knows. "Howard caused quite a lot of trouble for her when she first joined the SSR, because someone stole a whole bunch of technology he'd created, a lot of which could be used as weapons. When some of it was sold to America's enemies, he was branded a traitor."

"Ouch. Bet Tony doesn't often talk about that," Skye observes.

"I'm not sure he even knows," Coulson admits. "I've certainly never brought it up when I've encountered him.

She snorts. "Yeah, not exactly something you drop into casual conversation, is it?"

He chuckles. "Not so much." He pulls back from her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Sure," she says cheerfully. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, this era's not exactly forward thinking – " he begins.

"Coulson." She cuts him off. "Look, I've had to deal with backward thinking people my entire life – plenty of guys treated me like shit when I first got into hacking because it's supposedly a male thing. I can take it. Besides, if anyone really pisses me off, I'll just knock 'em on their ass or something."

He gives her a big dopey grin, and she smirks up at him, then clasps his face in both hands and draws his head down to kiss him, a long, heartfelt kiss that makes him moan her name into her mouth.

They're forced to break off when the door behind them opens, and Coulson quickly steps back, then turns towards the door. Peggy's standing there, with a brown-haired man in a suit at her shoulder.

"Mr Coulson, Miss Johnson, this is Edwin Jarvis, Howard Stark's butler, and my friend. He'll look after you."

"Thank you Agent Carter," Skye says. She shakes hands with the older woman, then steps into the corridor and looks Jarvis up and down. "Nice suit," she tells him, then smiles when he looks startled by her comment.

"Thank you, Miss Johnson," he says, and Skye bites back a smile when she hears his British accent. She wonders what it is about SHIELD that attracts so many Brits to the organisation. That thought reminds her of Fitz and Jemma, back home, and she wonders if anyone's noticed her and Coulson's absence yet.

Jarvis shepherds them out of the building, and into a very smart looking car, and twenty minutes later they're half way across town, and being ushered into a mansion that, to Skye's eyes, screams wealth and privilege.

"Miss Martinelli, Agent Carter's friend, is currently at her place of work, so it will just be the two of you, and myself," Jarvis tells them as he leads them up a wide flight of stairs.

"Does Miss Martinelli work for the SSR as well?" Skye asks.

"No. She is an actress. Although she is currently employed at the L&L Automat," Jarvis says. He turns left at the head of the stairs and gestures to a number of currently closed doors. "Miss Martinelli and Agent Carter have their rooms here." He turns to the right. "The rooms on this landing, however, are not currently in use, so you may select whichever ones suit you."

"We'll be sharing a room," Skye tells him, and is amused when his eyes widen. He's clearly biting back some sort of commentary, she decides – presumably on the gap between her and Coulson's ages. 

"Very well," is the only comment he offers, which earns him Brownie points as far as Skye's concerned. "Agent Carter requested that I help you to find suitable attire." He looks them both up and down, but Skye can tell he's now assessing their sizes. "I believe there should be several outfits upstairs that will fit you, if you'd care to follow me."

Skye slips her hand into Coulson's, and he squeezes her fingers, as they follow Jarvis up another, less ostentatious flight of stairs, and into a large room that seems to be full of clothes of all kinds.

Jarvis easily finds some three-piece suits for Coulson that fit almost as well as if they were tailor-made for him. He tries to fob some dresses off on Skye, but she refuses each and every one, and plumps, instead, for a two-piece pant suit in a charcoal grey, with a man's white, button-down shirt, and a narrow black tie, which she tugs at so that it lies rakishly askew. Jarvis, who had waited outside while they were changing, looks scandalised initially, then appraising, and then appreciative.

"You carry that off very well, Miss Johnson, if you don't mind me saying so."

"I don't mind, Jarvis. And thank you." She lifts an eyebrow at Coulson, who looks as if he might drool at any moment. 

"You look very – " He makes a helpless gesture with his hands, and she smirks at him. He's aroused by the way she looks, she realises, and that, in turn, turns her on, too.

Jarvis finds three more shirts for Skye, then passes several more to Coulson, before leading the way back downstairs. "Dinner will be served at nineteen hundred hours, in the dining room on the ground floor," he tells them. "If you will excuse me, I will go and see about preparing it."

"Thank you, Jarvis," Coulson says, and the butler gives him a nod, then leaves them on the landing.

"I think he likes us," Skye observes with an amused smirk.

"Despite himself," Coulson says, chuckling.

"Let's grab ourselves a room," she suggests, "and see if we can find some way to keep ourselves amused until dinner."

He gives her a look that tells her very clearly he knows exactly how he wants to amuse himself for the next few hours, and Skye drags her tongue across her lower lip, then turns on her heel and sashays along the landing until she reaches the room at the far end of the hall. She looks back over her shoulder, and gives Coulson a smouldering smile when she sees he's paused to adjust himself.

They pile the clothing they've borrowed on top of a Turkish ottoman in the corner of the bedroom, then Coulson steps into Skye's personal space and catches hold of the end of her borrowed tie. "You look so fucking good," he murmurs, his voice practically a growl.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Director," she tells him, feeling her nipples tighten at the hungry way he's looking at her. "I didn't know you had a thing for girls in suits."

"I don't," he says, "I just have a thing for you."

She smirks at him, then lets him reel her in until she plasters her body against his. "Wanna fuck me in the suit?" she asks softly.

"God, Skye," he groans, then clasps her face between his palms and kisses her: it's almost savage in its intensity, and she can feel herself practically melting against his body. She reaches down and palms his cock, which is rigid against his zipper. 

"Phil." His name comes out in a breathy whine, and he starts backing her across the room until the backs of her legs hit the edge of the bed. He pushes her down onto the bed, and she scoots backwards until she's sprawling in the middle of the bed; she reaches up and cups her breasts through her borrowed shirt, and Coulson growls. Skye moans in response, feeling a flood of moisture between her thighs. "Phil, please," she begs.

He tugs off her shoes and socks, then removes his own footwear. Skye watches as he pulls off his borrowed clothes, one slow item at a time, and when she reaches down to slip her hand inside her borrowed pants, he scowls and says, "Leave it." That makes her shudder as he's not usually the bossy one in bed – he likes her to order him around, as a general rule – but she can't say she minds the change.

Once he's naked he climbs up onto the end of the bed, then crawls towards her, and she is aware that her breathing's grown ragged in anticipation: she feels as if just one touch from him will instantly send her over the edge. He positions his body over hers, bare skin pressed against her clothed body, and she groans at the press of his rigid cock against her sex, even though her suit pants are between them. 

"Skye," he groans.

"Phil, _please_ ," she gasps, and his mouth meets hers in a hungry kiss. She's so focused on his mouth, and what he's doing with his tongue as he kisses her that it's only when he slides his middle finger through her folds that she realises he's unfastened her pants. Her body jerks against his as she comes, and she spreads her thighs wider, then lifts her hips beneath him, needing more. 

He fingerfucks her to an intensely satisfying orgasm that leaves her quivering like a jelly, then he kisses her softly as he strokes her through the aftershocks. After a few moments he sits up and tugs the suit pants down, but only as far as her knees.

"I want to tie you up," he says, and she realises he's as affected by this situation as she is.

"Yes," she says quickly. 

He pulls the loosened tie free of her collar, then uses it to fasten her wrists to the wooden rail at the head of the bed. He unbuttons her borrowed shirt, moaning in approval when he sees she hasn't put a bra on, then he begins sucking and biting her nipples, driving her to another orgasm, before he finally positions his body over hers again and guides his cock into her. She thinks he must be aching to come, but once his prick's buried deep inside her he pauses, kissing her throat, then scraping his teeth over her skin. It's not until his tongue's in her mouth again that he begins to move: his body seems powerful over hers because she's restrained by both the tie at her wrists and the pants around her knees, but she doesn't feel frightened or intimidated. It feels really good, in fact, and he drives her to three more orgasms before he finally comes himself, pumping his hips hard before he spills inside her.

He rolls off her, scrabbles the tie loose, then flops onto his back with a satisfied moan. "Fuck, Skye."

"Yeah," she agrees. This is some of the most intense sex they've ever shared, and she feels boneless with pleasure.

She's dozing when he touches her arm and suggests they have a bath before getting dressed again.

"It might not go down too well if we turn up for dinner smelling of sex," he says, smirking at her.

"Mmm. People might get jealous, it's true," she says, chuckling.

He helps her out of the rest of her clothes, then they move into the bathroom which, thankfully, has an amazingly huge tub. They fill it, then climb in together, Coulson sitting behind Skye so her back's against his chest.

"Don't fall asleep on me," he warns teasingly. "I think we might scandalise Jarvis if he came in and found us in the bath together."

"Mmm."

AC-S-AC-S-AC

After their shared bath, they get dressed, and read the paper together (Coulson hides the device in the Turkish ottoman), then they make their way downstairs to the library, although they can't resist peeking into Peggy's and Angie's rooms.

"They're sleeping together," Skye observes.

Coulson gives her a raised eyebrows look. "How can you tell?" 

Skye smirks. "You're supposed to be a secret agent, you tell me."

He rolls his eyes, then grabs the end of her tie and tugs her close, kissing her with lots of tongue.

"You really like the tie, huh?" she teases when he finally releases her mouth.

"I do," he agrees. "Though I'm not sure you wearing one all the time would be a good idea. Too distracting."

She chuckles. "Phil, you're a grown man, and a secret agent, you ought to be able to control yourself around me."

He looks abashed, which wasn't what she intended at all. "I know," he says, and his words and vibrations are coloured by embarrassment.

"Hey," she says softly, cupping his cheek with her right hand. "I was teasing. I'm just as crazy about you as you are about me."

"But you don't act like a besotted fool," he says.

"Well, neither do you," she points out. 

"I – " he begins, and she cuts him off, placing her finger over his lips.

"Shh. I love you just the way you are," she tells him. "Now let's find the library."

He nods, and she slips her hand into his, squeezing his fingers. He squeezes back, and they set off downstairs. The library is easy to find, and they settle down side by side on a couch with a stack of recent newspapers and other periodicals so that they can get themselves caught up on current affairs.

An hour later, Skye hears the telephone ringing out in the hallway, then Jarvis' low voiced conversation with whoever called. She straightens up, and Coulson gives her a questioning look, but before she can say anything Jarvis appears in the doorway.

"That was Agent Carter," he tells them. "It seems you're needed back at the SSR building." 

"Huh," Coulson says. "Okay. We'd better go and see what Agent Carter needs us for."

Skye gets to her feet quickly, and she and Coulson put their reading material back on the table from which they took it, then Skye says, "Back in a minute" before disappearing.

She returns within a few minutes with a leather briefcase. Coulson gives her an enquiring look, and she opens it to show him the 'boomerang' that brought them here. "It seems like a bad idea to leave this lying around."

He nods, and Jarvis escorts them to the door. He hands Coulson a roll of bills, which he swiftly pockets, then Coulson and Skye climb into the cab that pulls up at the sidewalk.

"I wonder what it'd be like to have a boring life," Skye murmurs as Coulson slips the bills that Jarvis gave him into his wallet.

"Boring?" he suggests, and she chuckles. 

"Yeah." She sits back and watches the streets as the cab heads back to the SSR office. She's wondering, again, whether anyone back in 2015 has noticed they're missing, and how they're reacting to her and Coulson's complete disappearance. She hopes they're not in panic mode – after all, no one has yet forgotten Simmons' sudden and inexplicable disappearance. She doesn't say anything to Coulson, however – he's got enough to think about.

She can't help thinking that a boring life might make a nice change, at least for a bit.


	9. Stranded/Survival Scenario

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Coulson find that even in the past, enemies want them dead.

The cab's half way back to the SSR building when Skye grabs Coulson's hand and says, "Brace yourself."

He gives her a puzzled look, which clears the next moment when a truck rear-ends their cab, shunting it into the back of another cab in front.

"What the hell?" gasps Coulson, twisting around in his seat to look behind.

"Phil!" Skye speaks his name sharply, and he looks back at her to see she's already got the cab door open and is scrambling out. 

"What – ?" he begins, but gets no further with his questions because Skye suddenly swings away from the cab, which he's still climbing out of, and lifts her hand to use her powers to repel a guy on a motorbike who's driving fast towards them.

He can only stare as Skye throws the motorbike and rider into the air and across the roofs of several cars before it crashes back onto the asphalt.

"How did you know he was coming for us?" asks Coulson disbelievingly.

"Later," she says, and grabs his hand, tugging him through the lanes of stalled traffic, and onto the opposite sidewalk. She staggers, and he catches her. "Energy," she whispers, and he feels a bit panicky – she must have used a lot of energy to repel that motorbike, and she needs to eat, but now is not a good time to stop for a meal. 

"We need to keep going," he tells her urgently as the wail of police sirens fills the air.

"Yeah," she gasps, and he slips his arm around her, and they stagger down the street, then duck into a side street. Coulson can only hope no one's seen them.

They come out on the next street over and when he looks around, Coulson sees a store selling newspapers, tobacco, and candy. He guides Skye inside, and she leans against the wall pretending to look at a newspaper while he grabs some snacks and bottles of soda for her. He hands her a candy bar and a bottle of soda, then takes the briefcase from her and shoves the other stuff inside. He slips her arm through his and leads them back out onto the street, glancing around in every direction, until Skye speaks up:

"We're okay for the minute – but I doubt they'll give up easily after losing us."

He looks down at her as she moves over to the edge of the sidewalk and leans against a building while eating her candy bar. "How did you even know trouble was coming?"

She shrugs, and looks thoughtful, her eyes seeming to go unfocused for a few moments. "I dunno, exactly – there was a sort of vibrating pressure in the air that felt – " She pauses, then focuses her gaze back on him. "Malevolent." 

"That's something new, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah," she agrees, her expression wry.

"Huh." He nods at her empty soda bottle. "You okay to keep moving?" 

She nods. "Are we still heading to the SSR?"

"I think we should. For a start, Peggy's got more resources that us. And second, we don't know why she called us back to the office, but I'm gonna assume it was something important."

Skye pushes herself away from the wall. "Come on, then." She slips her arm through his again, and they set off towards the SSR.

They're both wary and Coulson swears he can feel the back of his neck prickling as they walk, but it's not until they're just a block away from their destination that Skye stops dead, then whispers, "Trouble."

He looks up and sees smoke pouring from the top floor of the SSR building. "Shit."

"Yeah." Skye tugs his arm, and they move forward again, even more wary now. "There's Peggy," Skye says, nodding towards the agent, whose distinctive red Stetson makes her stand out amidst the sea of grey and black.

"Do you think we can get close enough to get her attention?" Coulson asks.

"I – DUCK!" 

He does as she commands, and moments later an iron bar whistles over their heads and crashes into the wall of the building they're standing beside. Coulson looks up in disbelief at the figure towering above them: over six and a half feet tall and dressed in what looks like chainmail, the giant is glowering down at them, then Skye tugs on Coulson's arm and yells "RUN!"

He obeys, forcing himself not to look back over his shoulder as the giant begins to pound down the street after them.

"Any way you can slow him down?" Coulson asks, breathing heavily.

"I already tried while you were gawping," Skye snaps. "Too big – I nearly blacked out." She grabs his hand and pulls him down a narrow, trash-infested alley, before they burst out into another wide avenue. 

The giant tries to follow and crashes into a building at the edge of the alley, and Skye says, "We need transport."

Coulson looks around, then spots a motorbike at the edge of the sidewalk. "You any good at hot-wiring stuff?"

She grabs his hand and drags him over to the motorbike, then places her hand on the bike and concentrates. A moment later the engine starts, and Coulson gives her the briefcase, then climbs on; Skye mounts behind him, and he pulls out into the traffic.

"Any idea where we're going?" she calls.

"Not remotely," he calls back. "Just, away." She has both arms wrapped around him, with the briefcase wedged uncomfortably between their bodies.

"Coulson," she yells.

"Yeah?"

"The giant's after us again."

"Shit!" He guns the engine, and leans forward, urging the machine to go faster.

"He's gaining on us," Skye calls. 

"Hold on!" he yells back, and feels her arms tighten around him, the briefcase digging uncomfortably into his back, as he takes them around a corner, the bike tipping sideways before he straightens up again.

"Coulson!" Skye's yell is all the warning he gets before something slams into the back of the motorbike, and they're catapulted across the street and onto the sidewalk to crash against the side of a building.

He tries to hang onto consciousness, as he worries about Skye, and whether she's been hurt, but before he can get his eyes to focus on her blackness descends.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

Coulson wakes to the sound of groaning, and it takes him a moment to realise the groans are his. He bites his lip to silence himself, then opens his eyes: he's lying on the stone floor of a narrow room that lacks any kind of furniture. For a moment he panics, because he thinks he's alone, then he hears a soft moan behind him, and he twists his head to see Skye sprawled on the stone floor behind him. 

He pushes himself to sit up, trying not to whimper at how much everything hurts, then he reaches out to Skye.

Her body jerks as his hand slides over her wrist. "It's okay," he says softly. "It's Phil."

She opens her eyes, squinting up at him, and he wonders if he's imagining how drained she looks. "Phil." Her voice is soft and scratchy, and when she doesn't make a move to get up, he shifts closer.

"Are you okay? Anything broken?"

"No," she says after a long moment. "Nothing broken." There's another pause, then she adds, "I can't use my powers."

He helps her to sit up, then slides his arms around her, and she presses her face into his neck.

"I can't feel your vibrations at all," she mutters. "It's like I've suddenly gone deaf."

"Is it because you tried to use them earlier on the giant?"

"I tried to use them on him after you were knocked out," she tells him, and that doesn't surprise him in the least. "But no – I'd still be able to feel your vibrations if that was the case, if I'd just over-exerted myself, but now there's literally nothing there."

He tightens his arms around her and presses a kiss to her hair. He has no idea what to say to her – how to comfort her. Is it just a temporary thing, or is it permanent? He knows Skye has taken a long time to properly appreciate her powers, and while she still doesn't see them as a gift in the way that her father had, she had come to accept them, and to take pride in using them to save people.

"I'm sorry, love," he says softly. 

The door to their cell crashes open, and a short, dark-haired woman stands framed in the doorway. "Why won't this bloody thing work?" she demands, waving around the strange device that was responsible for bringing them here.

Skye pulls herself back from his embrace, and they get to their feet. Coulson's not sure why, but he feels that he'd rather face his enemies standing on his own two feet, however shakily, than huddled on the floor.

"We don't know," he tells the woman. "We tried to use it to go back to our time after it brought us here, but nothing happened."

She glares at them. "I don't believe you," she says flatly, then nods to someone out of Coulson's sight. The giant steps into the cell, ducking his head under the lintel of the door – he can't straighten up fully even once he's inside. "The girl first," says the woman in the doorway.

"What are you going to do?" Coulson demands as the giant grabs Skye's arm and drags her away from him.

"Bake her some scones and give her high tea," snaps the woman. "Interrogate her, what do you think?" She stalks out of sight, and the giant marches Skye across the cell.

"Skye," Coulson calls, anguished: he's not at all sure she's in any state to survive an interrogation.

"Phil." Her voice comes out as a cracked whisper, and the fact that she's not even struggling makes him despair – he doesn't know if it's because she's trying to conserve her energy, or because she knows it would be futile in her weakened state. 

He sits back down and leans against the wall, biting his lip to stop himself from raging uselessly. Instead he forces himself to try to think who might want the time-travel device, and how they can get themselves back home if it's truly not working. 

AC-S-AC-S-AC

"Who are you?" asks Skye, the giant holding tight to her arm, as the woman leads the way down an icy-cold stone corridor, then up a narrow flight of stairs into another corridor. Half way along, the woman turns into another room, this one much larger than the cell in which she and Coulson had awoken. 

"Secure her," the woman tells the giant, and it irks Skye that she hasn't answered Skye's question, or even bothered to look at her.

The giant shoves Skye into the sole chair in the room, one that's bolted to the floor, and she wishes she could still use her powers, but there's no point in wishing – she learned that a long time ago. Her arms are secured behind her back with an ordinary pair of handcuffs; Skye knows that if she could use her powers she could easily vibrate them apart, but the fact that she can't use her powers, or even feel anyone's vibrations makes her think that the woman's deliberately taken precautions to keep Skye under her control. She wonders how the woman achieved it, and whether it's a permanent change; although she hated gaining her powers since it had meant Trip's death, and a lot of pain, fear, and misery, Skye's accepted them now, and she doesn't want them gone, not any more.

"I am Maya, an envoy of Thanos," the woman announces, and Skye stares at her with a stony expression. 

When the woman becomes exasperated, Skye shrugs. "Sorry, is that supposed to impress me? Only I've no idea who Thanos is, and I definitely don't know you."

The woman glares, then pulls something that looks like a remote control for a TV from her pocket and points it at Skye, who cries out as agony rips through her body – she's reminded of nothing so much as when she was breaking her bones while trying to control her powers.

The pain cuts off abruptly after only half a minute or so, but Skye's left gasping for air, her heart racing, her body aching, and sweat beading her hairline.

"That was just a taste," Maya tells her. "You will accord me the proper respect, or I will do that again, but much worse, and to your lover, too. Understand?"

Skye nods, still too breathless to speak.

"What do you know of this device?" asks Maya, waving the 'boomerang' in her other hand.

"Nothing," Skye tells her. "I found it in the bottom of a box file in an archive room in 2015. When Coulson brushed his thumb over the gem in the centre there was a ripple of blue light in the air, and then we found we were in 1952."

"Your lover, this Coulson, he's another like you? An Inhuman?"

"No. He's human, but he has some Kree DNA that was given to him to bring him back from the dead after he was stabbed with an Asgardian sceptre."

Maya cocks her head. "Describe this sceptre."

"You have to understand, I've never seen it," Skye tells her. "But I've seen photos." She describes it as best she can, and notes Maya's sudden stiffening when Skye mentions the blue gem in the sceptre.

"That is one of the Infinity Gems," Maya says, suddenly sounding breathless, awed even.

"I've no idea what an Infinity Gem is," Skye tells her, and Maya frowns at her.

"Are all your kind as ignorant as you?" Skye shrugs, and Maya glares, then elaborates, "They are six immensely powerful objects that were created by the Cosmic Entities. Each one is tied to a different aspect of the Universe: Time, Space, Reality, Mind, Power, and Soul. The blue gem in the sceptre you describe is part of the Space Gem." She waves the 'boomerang' again. "This device contains a part of the Time Gem, which is what allowed you to travel to this era. But I don't understand how your lover could have used it and not been promptly killed. He is even less Kree than you are, for you are half Kree, half Human."

She stares at the device for a while longer, then says, "There is nothing for it – I will have to experiment to discover what makes him unique."

"You're not going to do that," Skye says immediately.

Maya laughs. "And how will you stop me, child? You cannot use your powers while you are here. I made sure of that."

Before Skye can answer there's a crash from somewhere else in the building, then shouts, and Skye smirks. She's no idea what's happening, but it sounds hopeful.

The shouting comes closer, and Maya nods at the giant, who crosses the room, but he doesn't get outside the door before a figure appears, someone who's a very welcome sight to Skye.

"Lady Skye!" Lady Sif looks pleased to have found Skye. 

"Hello, Lady Sif. I'm so glad to see you."

"And I you." She bows, her fist clenched over her heart, then looks up at the giant. "Friend, it would be best if you let me and my friend go."

The giant rumbles something that Skye realises isn't English and cannot identify – for all she knows, it's Asgardian – and Sif replies, then to Skye's complete astonishment, he ducks under the door frame and disappears, leaving Maya staring in disbelief before she starts yelling.

"Be silent!" commands Sif, and Maya stops shouting in obvious surprise at Sif's order. "You have no authority here," Sif tells her. "You will leave, and never return to Midgard."

"You cannot order me around," Maya insists angrily.

Sif draws the sword that's been sheathed at her back, and Maya takes a step back, looking panicky. "Would you care to debate that with Odin, the All-Father?" 

Maya stutters a disavowal, and Sif nods. "You should leave this place, and tell Thanos that Midgard is under Odin's protection."

Maya starts to leave but Sif whips her sword up, barring the other woman's way. "Leave the devices," she orders. This earns her a glare, but she holds both the 'boomerang' and the thing that she'd used to inflict pain on Skye out to Sif, who points her sword at her feet. Maya sets both items down, then stalks out, and Sif turns her attention to Skye.

"I am sorry I did not get here sooner, Lady Skye. Heimdall sent me as soon as he saw the trouble you were in." She moves behind Skye's chair and begins fiddling with the handcuffs.

Skye's eyes widen. "Heimdall was watching me?"

"He has been watching you since I returned home after returning the Kree, Vin-Tak, to his own realm."

"Why?" asks Skye in surprise. "Oh, stupid question. So you'd know whether you had to come and intervene if I was too dangerous to leave here, right?"

Sif comes around in front of Skye with the handcuffs dangling. "No, Lady Skye. I did not believe it would be necessary to intervene. Your actions when last we met convinced me that you would learn to master your powers, as Heimdall tells me you have done. I asked him to keep an eye on you because I was concerned you might draw the attention of others like Vin-Tak."

"Oh. Well, thank you." Sif smiles at her as Skye gets to her feet. "Director Coulson is downstairs in a cell."

"Then let us collect him, and then we can be on our way."

"Are you taking us back to our own time?" Skye asks hopefully.

"In due course. But first I must take you to see the All-Father."

"You're taking us to see Odin?" Skye asks, a little disbelievingly. Sif nods, and Skye utters a muted "Wow", then leads the way downstairs to where Coulson's still locked in his cell.

"You should be able to get that," Sif says, and Skye's startled to realise that her powers are back.

"How did Maya stop me using my powers?" Skye asks as she vibrates the wooden door into small pieces.

Sif shows her the object that looks like a TV remote. "I believe this device was created by Thanos or one of his people."

The door finishes disintegrating, and there's Coulson on the other side, giving her such a look of mingled love and relief that she can't help running into his arms and hugging him tightly.

"Are you okay?" he asks, muttering into her neck. "I was having such awful visions of you being tortured."

"Lady Sif arrived before Maya could properly get started," Skye told him.

"Thank goodness." He steps back, his hands still on her arms, and looks her up and down, as if he can't be certain she's 100% okay until he's checked. Then he moves towards Lady Sif, hand outstretched. "Thank you for your timely arrival, Lady Sif."

"You're welcome, Phil, Son of Coul." She looks at Skye. "Are you ready, Lady Skye?"

"Ready for what?" asks Coulson, sounding surprised.

"Lady Sif's taking us to see Odin."

Coulson looks completely thunderstruck, then nods, and they make their way up to the roof of the building, where Sif calls on Heimdall to open the Bifrost.


	10. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Sif takes Skye and Coulson to Asgard to meet Odin. Things do not go as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! Thanks for reading and for leaving kudos/comments to those who did.

Sif makes them stand very close together as a vortex of rainbow coloured light shoots down onto the rooftop, and then they are zooming upwards, as if they're in the world's fastest elevator, and Skye can't help letting out a whoop of excitement. Coulson's arm is wrapped tightly around her, and she gives him a grin. His return smile looks less enthusiastic, and it suddenly occurs to her that he might not be overjoyed at the prospect of visiting Asgard which is, after all, where Loki is imprisoned. 

She presses a kiss to his cheek, then whispers. "I'll look after you."

He smiles genuinely at that. "My hero," he says equally quietly.

They stagger slightly as the Bifrost terminates in a big domed room in which stands a tall, dark-skinned, golden-eyed man. His clothing is gold, too, as is the horned helmet on his head.

"Welcome to Asgard, Lady Skye, Phil, Son of Coul," he says courteously. "I am Heimdall, and I am glad to see you safe and well."

"Thank you," Skye says quietly, feeling somewhat awed by this Asgardian; it's obvious to her that he's a powerful person, for all his quiet courtesy – and she feels as if those golden eyes can see right into her soul.

"Your mission was a success?" Heimdall asks Sif, who nods and shows him the time-travel device that's tucked into her belt. "Good."

He turns back to Skye and Coulson. "Enjoy your visit to Asgard, my friends."

"Thank you," Coulson says.

Lady Sif leads them off along a rainbow-streaked roadway towards a city, if city it is, that reminds Skye of Gondor from the Lord of the Rings movie. "I guess we're not in Kansas any more," she mutters, and Coulson casts her a surprised look, then chuckles quietly. He slips his hand into hers and she gives his fingers a squeeze, appreciating the supportive gesture.

To Skye's relief their progress into the city doesn't attract too much attention until they reach the palace, citadel, or whatever the large structure at the heart of the city is called. Then Thor appears, and Skye has to force herself not to gape.

"Still think he's dreamy?" Coulson asks in a teasing tone.

"He's got such huge arms," she whispers, and Coulson snorts.

Thor comes to greet them, expressing obvious pleasure at Coulson being 'recovered' from his death at his brother's hands, then leads them the rest of the way to see his father.

Walking into a large hall – is it the throne room, Skye wonders – they see an older man, not very tall and very stocky, with white hair and beard, a golden eye patch over his right eye, and a tall staff in his right hand. 

Skye stumbles to a halt when they're still several feet shy of the steps that lead up to the throne on which the man is seated.

"Skye?" Coulson looks at her, his expression worried, while Thor looks surprised, and Lady Sif anxious.

"Lady Skye, are you well?" asks Sif.

Skye, who's now got Coulson's hand in a death grip, says very quietly, "Who is that?"

"Odin, the All-Father," says Thor immediately. "My father, and the King of Asgard."

"There's something wrong with him," she mutters. There's a dissonance in his vibrations that she has never encountered before, and it's making her feel physically ill: headachy and nauseous. 

"What do you mean?" asks Thor sharply, looking up at his father, who's beginning to look impatient.

"I – I don't know," Skye says, "I'm not sure I can explain it to anyone who doesn't have my powers."

She forces herself to continue walking forward, very conscious of the eyes on her - not only those of her little party, and Odin himself, but also of the guards ranged around the edges of the throne room.

The four of them go down to one knee in front of Odin, who welcomes them in a gracious manner. Skye hasn't let go of Coulson's hand because this close, the dissonance in Odin's vibrations is so strong that she feels like she might pass out. She can't concentrate on the conversation, she's too busy clinging to Coulson, who's like an anchor for her consciousness, and she's relieved when Odin doesn't keep them talking too long. 

Sif leads them to a suite of rooms that's been set aside for them while they're here, and the further they go away from Odin, the less nauseated Skye feels so that by the time they reach the doors to the suite, she's able to think and concentrate again. 

Sif promises that refreshment will be brought for them, and suggests they might like to rest after the excitements of the experiences in 1952. "Tonight you are invited to a banquet," she tells them. She looks at Skye. "I hope you feel better after some rest and refreshment, Lady Skye."

"Thank you." 

Sif closes the doors behind her as she leaves, and Coulson immediately turns to Skye, "Are you okay? You looked like you were going to pass out back there."

"I very nearly did," she says quietly, and crosses to the nearest chair, sinking down gratefully into its plush upholstery. "There was something very off about Odin."

He crouches in front of her and takes both of her hands in his. "Tell me," he says.

"I don't know how to explain it," she tells him, "but I'll try." She thinks for a few moments, then continues, "You know how you see an actor in the same role, week after week, maybe for two or three years, and then you see them in a completely different role, and something about them is familiar, but you can't immediately place them?"

Coulson nods. "Odin's like that?"

"Sort of," Skye says, then lets out a sigh of frustration. "It's like he's wearing a mask, but the mask isn't just covering his face but all of him."

Coulson swallows so hard it's audible in the quiet room. "Are you saying that you think he might not be Odin at all?"

She gives him a sharp look. "That frightens you. Why?"

"Because Loki could take on different forms."

"But Thor told us just now that Loki died on the Dark World," Skye objects. "After what happened with the Dark Elves in Greenwich."

"But what if Thor was mistaken?" Coulson asks. "Loki was known as the God of Mischief in Norse mythology because he could change his appearance, and I know he possessed sorcerous powers he learned from his mother, Frigga."

"Phil," Skye whispers, "if that _is_ Loki, then he now has two of the Infinity Gems – the Tesseract from the Battle of New York was brought to Asgard for safe keeping, wasn't it?"

Coulson nods. "And we've just handed over that time-travel device which you said Maya contains part of the Time gem."

"Yeah." There's a thoughtful pause. "We have to tell Thor."

"He might not believe us," Coulson points out.

"Well no one might," Skye says. "Do you suppose Odin is dead?"

"I hope not," he says quickly. "We need to figure out a way to expose Loki, or to make him expose himself."

"First, I need to eat and get some sleep," she says.

At that moment there's a light knock on the door, and Coulson goes to investigate, to find it's a young woman bringing the promised refreshments. Skye sighs with relief at the sight – she desperately needs to replenish after using her powers against the giant when they were back on Earth. Food and rest will help her to be able to think more clearly, then she and Coulson can make a plan.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

When Skye wakes from a refreshing sleep a few hours later, Coulson's stretched out on the bed beside her, but he's awake. He seems to sigh with relief when she calls his name.

"Phil." She pushes herself up the bed to lie beside him, then leans in and kisses him, her right hand sliding over his scar. "Are you okay?" she asks when she pulls her mouth from his.

"Better now you're awake again," he says, sounding a bit sheepish, as if he's ashamed of the admission.

"I'm sorry," she says immediately.

"God, Skye, no, don't be sorry. You needed to rest, I know that. I just – " He pauses, and she presses her lips to his cheek. 

"Fell prey to dark fears?" she suggests.

"Yeah."

"I'm really not surprised," she tells him. "And you needn't feel bad about it." She nuzzles the side of his neck, sliding her hand from his chest down over his stomach towards his belt.

He catches her wrist in his hand. "Skye, do you think that's a good idea?"

She raises her eyebrows at him, and looks at the mixture of fear and arousal in his eyes. "Unless you think Odin's about to burst in here," she says, smirking, "I think it's an excellent idea. You need to relax, and then we can start planning." She leans in and kisses him again, more hungrily, and he moans into her mouth as her hand slides into his suit pants and cups his hot, hard flesh. She strokes his cock, enjoying the feeling of his silky soft skin under her hand, and the way it seems to swell and grow even bigger. She pulls her mouth from his, then sits up and tugs his suit pants down as far as his knees, then she quickly ditches her own suit pants before straddling him. He groans, and she wonders if the fact they're still half dressed is turning him on as much as it is her. She clasps the base of his cock lightly as she sinks down onto it, moaning in her turn as he fills her.

"Feels good," he mutters.

"Yeah," she agrees wholeheartedly, then she begins to ride him.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

Afterwards they share a quick bath, then get dressed again, before settling in their suite's sitting room. 

"I think we should talk to Heimdall," Skye says, and Coulson gives her a surprised look.

"Why?"

"Because he can see further than most Asgardians," Skye says. "How much time do you suppose he spends up here, rather than guarding the Bifrost? Maybe he hasn't seen Odin lately?"

Coulson nods. "And then what?"

Skye shrugs. "If Heimdall can't see any difference, then we talk to Thor and Lady Sif – we have to try to find a way to make Loki, if it is Loki, reveal himself, and it'll have to be subtle since he's a Trickster."

"Do you want to go and see Heimdall now?"

"Yup. Sooner we do, the sooner this is dealt with – I hope."

They make their way swiftly back out of the city, and onto the roadway leading to Heimdall's portal. When they arrive he looks surprised to see them.

"You're not leaving so soon?" he asks.

Skye shakes her head. "Heimdall, may I ask you something?"

He tilts his head, then nods. "Ask, Lady Skye."

"How often do you see Odin?"

His eyebrows go up. "Not very often. It has been some time since he has needed to use the Bifrost."

"Have you actually seen him since the attack by Malekith was finally repulsed?"

He seems to stiffen at her question. "I have not."

Skye nods, swallows hard, then says, "I don't think the man currently occupying Asgard's throne is the All-Father."

Heimdall's eyes go wide in surprise, then he lowers his voice to ask, "Who?"

"I think it's Loki," Skye tells him. 

"How can you tell Odin's not who he appears to be?"

"How much do you know about me?" Skye counters.

"You are a mortal from Midgard," Heimdall answers. "With the power to tear continents in half."

Skye nods. "A side effect of my powers is that I can 'read' the vibrations of everything and everyone. Each person's vibrations are unique, and obviously, the better I know someone, the more subtle changes I can read. But even with someone I don't know well, I can read quite a lot. When I came into Odin's presence earlier, his vibrations felt so wrong that it made me feel physically ill."

Heimdall nods his understanding, and Skye continues, "Can you see through Loki's – " She gestures vaguely. "disguises?"

He looks thoughtful. "I do not know. I'm not aware of ever being in Loki's presence when he was disguised as someone else."

"Can we find out?" Skye asks. "Because you're the most obvious person to see through him."

"We can indeed, Lady Skye."

"Of course, if that is Loki pretending to be Odin," Coulson observes, "it begs the question of where Odin really is. Would Loki have killed him?"

"It would not surprise me," Heimdall says, "but I would hope not." He steps down off the podium at the centre of the Bifrost portal, and marches (there'[s no other word for it) back along the Bifrost bridge, Skye and Coulson hurrying to keep up.

They reach the citadel and encounter Lady Sif, who looks startled to see Heimdall and at a gesture from him, joins them. 

"Where are Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun?" Heimdall asks quietly.

"Sparring with Thor," she answers.

"Fetch them," Heimdall says, "there may be mischief afoot."

Sif's eyebrows go up at the slight emphasis Heimdall places on the word 'mischief', but she gives a quick nod and hurries off.

"If Loki has taken the All-Father's place, he will not relinquish it easily," Heimdall observes.

"He's going to be pissed off," Coulson says quietly, and Skye takes his hand and gives it a brief squeeze.

They reach the throne room at the same time as Sif, Thor, and the Warriors Three, and Thor says, "Heimdall. Trouble?" His deep voice is calm, but Skye can sense anger in his vibrations, and knows that things will not go well with Loki if he has been pretending to be the All-Father.

"We shall see soon enough," Heimdall says, and Thor nods, then he and his friends fall in behind Skye and Coulson, who are walking on Heimdall's right.

The man on the throne who appears to be Odin looks up when they come into sight, and his expression is curious, but untroubled. Skye isn't fooled, however – there's a tension in him that's palpable to her senses.

"Heimdall," he says. "It is not often we see you away from your post. Trouble, Guardian?"

The golden-eyed man is staring at Odin, and Skye again gets the feeling that he can look right into a person's soul.

"The worst kind," Heimdall says, and Skye can feel everyone around her tensing up because his words are a clear signal that they man they're looking at is not Odin. "You are a master of disguises, Loki, but you were wise to stay out of my sight. Of course, you should also have stayed out of the way of Lady Skye, for she fathomed you were not who you appear to be immediately."

'Odin' snarls, then his form flashes and a much younger man, wearing black and green, stands in Odin's place. 

Thor growls, and begins to stride forward, but Skye darts forward and grabs his wrist. He looks down, clearly surprised, and Skye says, "We need to find out where Odin is," she points out, "before you kill him."

Loki laughs. "My brother cannot kill me," he says in a derisive tone. "He could not bring himself to do it. That mortal of his has made him soft."

Skye raises an eyebrow at the Trickster. "I could kill you," she says calmly. "I have the power to tear continents apart. Killing you would be easy."

"You won't though," Loki says confidently. "You mortals are all too soft-hearted, like that one." He points his, Odin's, staff at Coulson. Then there's a flicker and half a dozen Lokis appear around the room. 

Thor's friends draw their swords, and Skye shouts, "Wait!" She turns in a quick circle, then points unerringly at just one of the figures. "That's the real Loki, the rest are illusions." She smirks at Loki's snarl of rage, although her smirk fades when he flickers and a dozen more Lokis appear around them.

They all begin to attack Sif, Thor, and their friends, while one charges at Heimdall. Another thrusts Odin's staff at Coulson, and Skye, right hand raised, shoots a burst of power out that snaps the staff to pieces before Loki can hurt Coulson with it.

"I stabbed you once before, mortal," Loki says to Coulson, snapping his fingers, and a long, curving sword appears in his hand. "I can do it again."

"No, you can't," Skye tells him, and she uses her powers again, pushing Loki backwards across the throne room, towards a group of waiting guards.

"Where is Odin?" calls Coulson, as Loki turns on the hapless Asgardians and begins fighting them.

"Buried deep," Loki answers with a taunting smile as he turns away from the guards he's just ruthlessly killed. 

He turns back towards Coulson and Skye, but she sends a much stronger thrust of power against him, and he is lifted up into the air, then hurled against the wall behind him. He smashes against the stone with an audible crunch of bones, just as more Asgardian guards pour into the throne room. The moment Loki falls unconscious his illusory duplicates disappear.

Thor rushes over to the downed Trickster, then hauls him up, shouting at him, which Skye thinks is a waste of energy. She hurries to his side, Coulson and Heimdall on her heels, and catches hold of his arm once more.

"Odin's not dead," she tells him urgently, and Thor looks down at her, hope warring with anger. "Loki said he's 'buried deep', but he didn't say 'dead and buried'. If he's still alive and anywhere in this place, I can find him."

Thor drops his foster brother to the floor, then gestures for the guards to take him. "You can? How?"

"Vibrations," Skye tells him. "Even unconscious he'll be vibrating in a different way to the stones or earth he's buried beneath." She rubs the back of her hand over her mouth, then says, "I need to get some rest and eat first, but in a few hours, we can start looking for him."

"I thank you, Lady Skye," he tells her, bowing with his fist over his heart, the same gesture Skye's seen Lady Sif make. "If you can find the All-Father, I will ask him to reward you with whatever your heart desires."

Skye gives him a tired smile. "Coulson and I just want to go back home, to our own time," she tells him, and he nods.

"Heimdall will aid us in that." He looks over Skye's head at the golden-eyed Asgardian, whose deep voice solemnly promises that he'll send them home safely.

She nods, turns, then stumbles, and Coulson, Thor, and Heimdall all reach out to keep her upright.

"Allow me," Thor says, and a vague nod from Skye, he scoops her up into his arms and carries her from the throne room to the suite she's sharing with Coulson.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

A few hours later, after they've both slept, Coulson accompanies Skye back to the throne room, and he watches as she works her way across the length and breadth of the room, pausing at intervals to tilt her head towards the ground. Eventually though, she shakes her head, and he follows her out of the room. Lady Sif is waiting for them, and she explains that Thor's put her at Skye's disposal to conduct her wherever she wishes to go.

Skye suggests they start in Odin's quarters, and Sif leads the way.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Coulson asks as they follow the Asgardian warrior along the hallways. He has to ask, because Skye is looking tired, although not as tired as after she tried to fight the giant.

"Yeah," she says. "It's something I have to do."

"Promise me that if you need to rest and refuel, you will?" he asks, then hates himself for it.

She wraps her hand around his left one. "I promise, Phil," she says softly, then offers him a chaste kiss, before following Sif into Odin's quarters.

It takes hours for Skye, led by Lady Sif, to work her way down through the citadel's various levels, and all Coulson can do is keep her company, but eventually, in the lowest vault, Skye stops abruptly, so that Coulson bumps into her and has to grab her to keep her from falling over.

"He's here," she says, and Sif immediately asks where in an anxious voice.

"Wait," Skye says, then sets off at a slow pace along the rocky passage. "Here."

Sif sends the young page, who's been following them for the last couple of hours, running back upstairs to fetch workmen. 

"I can get him out," Skye says, then adds, "I'd better get him out right now – he's dying in there."

"But – " begins Coulson, then swallows down his objections. The rock looks impenetrable to him, but it occurs to him it can't be, if Loki hid Odin there.

"Keep back, both of you," Skye tells him and Sif. Then she walks up to the rock wall and places both palms flat against the surface and concentrates, her eyes closed. 

Coulson and Sif exchange an anxious look, but he knows that if Odin is dying, they can't afford to wait for the Asgardian workmen to get him out.

"It's a plug of stone," Skye says quietly. "I can break it down, but it won't be as quick as I'd like."

"Do not endanger yourself unnecessarily, Lady Skye," Sif says, but she gets no answer, just a rumbling sound as the rock beneath Skye's hands begins to vibrate and crumble, tumbling to lie at her feet.

It takes more than an hour, but eventually the plug has been disintegrated and Skye drops her hands, then steps back, and begins to crumple. Coulson catches her, and helps her to stumble backwards as Sif gestures for the waiting workmen to crawl into the space that Skye's uncovered. They draw Odin, who is unconscious, and looks shrunken and wasted, out of the cavern beyond the plug that Skye's removed, then they hurry him upstairs to the healers.

Thor appears just as Odin's being carried away, and he strides over to where Coulson is holding Skye up.

"Allow me," he says once more, and Coulson nods, relinquishing Skye to Thor's immensely strong arms. 

Upstairs in their suite, Thor lays Skye on the bed, then gives Coulson the fist-over-the-heart bow, before leaving him with his unconscious lover. Coulson requests refreshment, and someone brings two trays of food, which they leave on the table in the sitting room, then Coulson stretches out on the bed beside Skye, and presses a kiss to her cheek; he whispers, "My hero", before settling in to wait for her to wake up. He can hardly wait to get back home.


End file.
